Chained
by WaterFront3000
Summary: You can tell a lot about a person by looking in their shed. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Afternoon in school. Yells and chatter surrounded every student in the cafeteria. Bits of food flew through the air every now and then. Kids laughing or screaming and some just flat out silent. One in particular being Jamie.

Jamie could be considered a tomboy, although saying that to her would usually get you a trip to the dentist for unaligned teeth. Her violent nature is actually one of many reasons for still being stuck in junior high.

Her teacher, Miss Simian had held her back a full year awhile back and has since despised her teacher and all of her classmates too. However, there was one in particular that stabbed the sensitive spot in her brain so many times, it became unbearable.

Gumball Watterson. Every time the name passed her lips a taste of salt, bread and lemon juice blended into one would be left on her tongue. The reason? He was too happy. Always smiling, always laughing, always dancing.

It made her sick.

She simply watched him dance around for about five minutes then walk off with his brother, Darwin to eat lunch. She couldn't care less about Darwin, but Gumball was just flat out annoying. Always having that cheesy smile on his face, like the whole world was just some giant ball of cake he could eat away as he wished.

To be specific, Jamie didn't hate Gumball for this reason. No, she hated everyone for this reason. Why is everyone so happy? Always smiling and laughing and whatnot. She hated Gumball more because he was happy more than anyone. Some days, she just wanted to take his little neck and a chain and just tie it to a car and get his legs and tie those to another car-

**"Jamie."**

Jamie snapped out of her little mind show, staring up at Tina. Her best, and only friend.

**"Your... sandwich?"**

She stared down at what was once her ham and cheese sandwich and now is two crushed pieces of bread with the cheese and meat poking out from the top.

"Oh, its nothing," said Jamie, setting her lunch down on the table.

**"Upset?"** asked Tina.

"I always am, aren't I?"

**"Yes, but you don't crush your only meal."**

"I'll go to the convenience store after-"

In a split second, Jamie's face was shoved flat on the table. Creating a loud 'BANG' that bounced all over the walls causing everyone to go dead silent. Quiet 'Ooooh's and 'He's a dead man' could be herd being passed around.

Jamie slowly rose up from the table. Her eyes not covered with tears, blood or anything. Anything visible, that is. Her eyes from the inside, burned with rage. She slowly turned her head around at the culprit. She would make sure she was the very last thing they saw.

The fist thing she saw sadly, was that smile.

'_That stupid, cheeky, no-good, annoying, brain-stabbing, heart-choking, SMILE.'_

He looked happy, but at the same time, knew what he did. She could sense the fear in him. She could already hear him crying all over the floor. She could smell his blood on the floor and she could taste his salty tears. He knew he was in for it. And with that in mind, he had the audacity, of all other kids in the building, to speak one simple word to her.

"S-sorry," said Gumball.

She slammed her fist on the table with great force. Sending two chills down everyone's spine. She got up from her seat, walking right up to his face. She pulled a fist back as far as she could. Her mind was far beyond the point of reasoning. With her teeth grinding against each other, her-

_'BRRRRRRING!'_

"Well, there's the bell, so..."

As quickly as it escalated, Gumball ran past her and everyone else. Leaving Jamie standing with her arm in the same position and everyone staring. Once her mind processed what had just happened, she turned and left the cafeteria in the opposite direction of Gumball, which, came as a surprise to everyone.

**"Jamie! Hold up!"** roared Tina.

Jamie paid no attention towards Tina and continued walking.

**"Hey, Jamie!"**

"What do you want?" she simply asked.

**"Where are you going?"**

"I'm going..." now that she thought about it, she didn't actually know where she was going.

**"Did you want me to eat Gumball for you?"**

"No... I'LL destroy him."

**"I said eat, but..."**

"I am sick of that kid, dang it!" spat out Jamie. "" Him and his goofy smile and his dumb friends and his stupid girlfriend and getting away with whatever he wants! I'm sick of it!"

Tina eyeballed Jamie and said, **"You gonna hang him on the flagpole with his underwear?"**

"No... not this time." Jamie cracked her knuckles. "I'm far beyond the point of mercy."

Tina felt a bit uneasy. She hadn't seen Jamie this mad since she was held back. Even at that, all Jamie did was drove a car off a cliff and cussed a few times. She thought it would be a good idea to try and calm her down, but all that would do is double the rage. Jamie had to get it out of her system, else everyone within a ten-foot radius would suffer dearly.

"Don't worry, Tina. I've got something in mind..."

* * *

><p>"Dude, she's gonna kill you."<p>

"No she is not!"

"I saw everything! She wants to destroy you!"

"Don't you think you're over-reacting to this?" asked Gumball as he walked down the halls with his brother, Darwin.

"Over-reacting? I think you're under-reacting!" said Darwin, tapping his brothers head.

"Did you forget? Her mom works here now! As long as I get home quickly, I have complete immunity!" Gumball shook his fist in the sky, feeling victorious.

"But what if you don't get home quickly and she catches you?"

"Darwin, you need to look on the brighter side of things." Gumball brought an arm around Darwin's back. "Just look at a tiger. It's as fast as dad when there's a potluck around the corner. I am a descendent of a tiger and thus, means I am a fast runner."

"Tigers chase on all fours. You run on two legs..."

"I can adapt!"

"I am confident you can, I'm just not confident you'll walk away from this without a scratch," said Darwin patting his brother on the cheek.

In what felt like seconds, school was finally wrapping up for everyone. Teachers and students were bolting out of the front doors with excitement and relief that the weekend was finally here. Yelling and tires screeching filled the front of the school leaving behind nasty marks on parking spaces and joy.

As soon as a majority of school had left the building, Gumball followed swiftly. Trying his best to stay inside the crowd. If Jamie can't see him, she can't pummel him into oblivion.

His sights were set on the school bus that was sitting in park. The driver was about ready to pull off and he was mere inches away from it.

_'Just a little more, annnnnd...'_

"Watterson!"

Gumball froze completely in place. He knew that voice, where it came from, and what it wanted. He turned slowly to face his gym teacher. The only reason he knew this was bad news was because of her relation to Jamie.

"I need to have a word with you."

'Oh please, please no.' Gumball forced his legs in the opposite direction of the school bus and walked up to his coach. "Y-you wanted something from me?"

"No."

…

"Then... why did you call for me?"

"My daughter wants to talk to you," said Coach, stepping aside revealing Jamie standing perfectly still.

"She wanted to walk home with you and talk about something that happened with a 'TRNG' test. Said she needed to ask you a question about it."

"Um..." sadly, Gumball had no idea what she was talking about. But considering the circumstances, Jamie more than likely made it up as an excuse to be alone with him.

"I'll see you at home, Jamie," said coach as she patted Jamie on the head and slowly waked over to her car. She hopped in, started the engine and drove off slowly. Leaving the two kids alone in the parking lot.

Gumball stared blankly at Jamie, not once moving a single millimeter from his original spot. He couldn't see her eyes under all that hair, but his guess was that she was giving him a death stare.

"Soooo... about lunch earlier today..."

"Walk with me."

"Huh?"

"I said, walk with me," repeated Jamie.

"Wait, why?"

"That wasn't a question, Gumball. Walk home with me."

There was no arguing in this situation. It was either walk or receive a knuckle sub-sandwich for Gumball. He said, "Alright."

Jamie nodded and simply led him to her home. The entire walk was as Gumball expected, dead silent. He gave Jamie a glance every now and then but she paid him no attention whatsoever. About ten minutes later, they had arrived at her home. It looked nearly the same as the last time he saw it. She led him to the backyard that had dying plants all around.

"Nice... place you got here."

"Can it," Jamie spat at him. She then led him over to an old shed that looked a thousand years old. She jiggled the lock and it fell to her feet. Slowly opening the door, she grabbed his arm and led him inside the darkness.

"Oh no..." muttered Gumball to himself.

**A/N So, think you all know where this is going? Chapter 2 coming up soon.**

**- Water**


	2. Chapter 2

The inside of the shed wasn't visible, but Gumball's guess was that it had bugs and junk all over. As he and Jamie stepped in, the door shut itself behind both of them. Causing Gumball to yelp in surprise.

"Be quiet, baby!" spat Jamie.

"I can't help it if this place is haunted!"

"It's NOT haunted. Its just really old."

"Why are we in here in the first place? Can't you kill me outside where a witness can see us?" asked Gumball.

"I never said anything about killing you," said Jamie.

"Then... why am I here?"

"Watch out for the stairs."

"Sta-AH!"

Gumball fell flat on a concrete surface. Unlike his face, the surface wasn't flat. In fact, it felt like it was a corner. He scrambled to his feet and felt around the darkness. His senses must be lying, because he really did felt a staircase.

"W-what the heck is this?!"

"A staircase. People can go up and down with it."

"I know what it is! I'm asking why it's in a shed?!"

"My home used to be part of a complex war zone. This is one of the last bunkers they used during a war because the rest were blown apart.

"It's funny, could have sworn there used to be a body down here where you fell..."

"W-what?!"

"Stop being a baby and come on already," said Jamie grabbing Gumball's hand again and leading him down the stairs.

"How deep does this go?" asked Gumball.

"About five meters."

"…

"How deep does it go in cars?"

Jamie pretended she didn't hear that, but simply muttered, "One."

They reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in silence in the darkness. Jamie stepped forward to a wall and a small 'click' could be herd. A little light illuminated the room only so much, but enough so one could see fairly well inside.

The place was actually well kept and cleaned. Sure it had dust, but it was quite nice, actually. The walls looked to be made of stone while the floor was made of gravel. Thankfully, Gumball saw no dead body, but something did make his stomach turn at what sat in the corner. An overflowing box of chains, handcuffs, and many things that had metal linked together.

"Um... Well, this was a nice trip, Jamie! But oh, gee! Do I have somewhere to be-"

Jamie grabbed Gumball by the neck and threw him against the wall. She socked him in the face and kicked him over. Gumball clenched his stomach and rolled on his side. Jamie kicked him multiple times, but he saw all of this coming from a mile away.

Jamie continued her assault on Gumball as the boy simply took it without resistance. Soon, something hit Gumball that he didn't expect to feel.

A stray tear. But it wasn't his.

Jamie stopped her beating on Gumball and took a few steps backwards. She started crying out to someone but Gumball couldn't distinguish what she was saying. All he got out of her was, "Come back."

He knew it was a bad idea, but he knew he had to speak. He said, "Jamie?"

"D-don't talk t-to me..." quivered Jamie.

"But... I wanna help you." Gumball placed his hand on her shoulder. "Just... talk to me."

"Why on earth would I talk to you?! You don't know NOTHING about me! You think you have it rough? Well you don't! You have everything! You have family! You have friends! You have people who love you for what you are!

"I don't have any of that... I'm all alone in this world, and you're walking around like nothing's wrong! Like the whole world is yours! Like everything is just perfect for you! Well I'm sick of it! I'm sick of your stupid cheeky smile and your attitude and your friends and everything!

"I'm sick of it Gumball! You understand me?! I. AM. SICK. OF. IT!"

She continued her tantrum as Gumball simply watched on. He wished he knew what to do in this situation, but this wasn't the type of thing to happen to him every day. Sure, every day was different, but this was something new to him.

After a couple more minutes of all-out brawling, Jamie was finally calming down a bit. (At least, that's what Gumball hoped was going on.) She wiped her tears off of her cheeks and started muttering something.

"What was that?"

"..."

Gumball took a few steps closer.

"Could you say that again?"

"...Y-you know, its not really bad anymore."

Gumball was now more confused. _'What is she talking about?'_

"For awhile n-now, I was all alone. I didn't have many friends in and out of school. When I go home, my parents always seem to keep their d-distance from me... So if something happens, I don't have anyone to go to...

"No one..."

Gumball could feel a few tears building up in him. He couldn't believe he actually felt sorry for Jamie.

"J-Jamie, I-"

"But... Its not like that anymore..."

Jamie stood up and slowly walked up to Gumball. She backed him up against the wall, her hands pressed on his chest. Hey eyes had the look of depression in them. But her soul told another story.

"Because right now, I have _you_."

"U-uh, Jamie, I-I-"

She pressed her hand on his mouth while her other hand grabbed his shirt. She pulled it up revealing his soft, furry chest. He had some muscle, but it wasn't too much. The only reason he looked buff was that his fur was growing a bit. Her guess was that he hit a growth spurt. She rubbed his belly as she popped his shirt completely off. Throwing it aside, she smashed her face up against his. Savoring every single second of it.

Gumball was absolutely terrified. All the emotions he was feeling right now was too much for his mind to handle. He struggled to break free from the kiss but Jamie was too strong. He kicked his legs and tried pushing her away but nothing worked. His only option was to let her have her way with him and pray it would end soon.

He could feel her tongue inside his mouth, playing around with his. The feeling of it trying to go down his throat was beyond scary for Gumball. He found relief when she pulled back from him, giving him some breathing space. Small tears ran down his cheeks as he slid down the wall, sitting in front of Jamie towering over him.

She looked happy. For once in his life, Gumball saw Jamie happy. For all the wrong reasons.

"C...C-can I g-go?" asked Gumball, terrified of her response.

"Go?"

"Y-yes..."

Jamie thought about things for a moment. She didn't plan things to escalate to this. She looked around trying to make sense of everything that was happening.

"Gumball... You can't go yet."

"W-what? W-why? I-I didn't-"

Jamie sat in front of him. Her face inches away from his own. She reached out and grabbed his tail. It felt softer than his chest, and that thing was beyond soft. She eyed it closely looking back and forth at it and Gumball with an idea in mind.

"Don't... Go..."

**A/N Talk about a beech to wite yoz. Do you know where its going yet? Eh hehhhh **

**This chapter has improved since the original post. If you still see an error, feel free to PM me about it so I can fix it.**

**Thanks to – Askjetyozuma, falconfox8, ai-wa-yume-zdesu, kittenandpuppyluv, mrflipmaster12, rasmus-the-drawer, IlikecheeseburgerLOL, kasualKoopa, jawbreaker2000 and daxe12 for rebloogs, likes, favs, follows, reviews, and support for the first chapter.**

**Chapter 3 to come soon.**

**- Water**


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't... go..."

Jamie stepped closer to Gumball, backing him up against the wall again. Gumball was more terrified this time than before because Jamie was unpredictable at this point. He tried stepping away, but Jamie grabbed him by his neck. Her grip was fierce. Her eyes burned red and practically tore into Gumball's soul.

Jamie took her free hand and gripped the buckle on Gumball's belt.

"W-WAIT!"

"Don't... go..."

Jamie ripped Gumball's belt right off of his waist. The sides of his pants were torn, but still up to his waist. Gumball held on to his pants and at the same time, tried to escape Jamie's death grip on his neck. Jamie tossed Gumball on the ground. The young boy fell face first, leaving a brutal scar on his forehead. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. Just then, Gumball could feel his pants slipping off of his legs. He jerked his head back and saw Jamie holding them over his legs.

Gumball didn't care if he was naked at this point. He had a small window of opportunity to escape. As Jamie stood over him, he kicked her in the leg, causing her to fall backwards on her back. Gumball shot up on his feet and made a break for the stairs. He got one foot on a step until,

**'CRACK!'**

Gumball stood completely still. His mind had officially stopped working at that moment. His hands reached for his back that now had a large cut that ran down all the way on his back. He slowly turned his head around, facing Jamie who now had a long chain gripped in her hand. It had a small piece of broken metal at the end and a small amount of blood on the edge.

Gumball looked on at Jamie. Her face had a small smile with tears all over. Her hand with the chain slowly rose up in the air.

"P-PLEASE WAIT-"

**'CRACK!'**

Jamie whipped Gumball in the leg, rendering him immobile and causing him to collapse. The back of his leg now wore a cut that ran all the way down from his waist to his foot.

Gumball let out a terrified scream, hoping someone up above would hear him. Jamie ran up to him and wrapped the chain around his mouth. She then dragged him towards the box of chains and threw him on the ground, whipping him yet again.

**'CRACK!'**

As Gumball screamed and sobbed on the ground, Jamie dug in the box and pulled out a small gag. It was made of leather and had a blue ball that shined in the lighting.

She rolled Gumball on his belly and jumped on his back. She tied the gag on his mouth and made sure it was tightly secured. Gumball choked as he tried to scream with it on. His breaths were more deeper and harsh as Jamie got off of his back.

She reached in the box of chains and pulled out several chains, cuffs and locks. They were covered in rust and had scratches all over them. She grabbed Gumball's arm and locked it in a cuff. She then went over to the wall, dragging Gumball as she did. She looked around and found a small ring in the concrete wall. She took a lock and attached it and the chain to the metal ring. She proceeded to repeat this with Gumball's other arm and legs, all while he was crying for her to let him go.

After much struggling, she finally had him chained to the wall completely. She took a few steps back and admired how Gumball couldn't escape. How he couldn't scream with the gag.

How he looked so helpless.

Jamie stepped forward slowly. Causing Gumball to back up against the wall. She kept the chain she attacked him with in her hand. Jamie picked up the broken piece of metal at the end and showed it to him. It had blood all over it and both knew very well who's blood was on it.

She took his arm and slowly started to give him small cuts on his arm. She enjoyed every single moment of seeing his blood and watching Gumball cry his little heart out. She continued cutting him all over his body for god knows how long till he had about a hundred cuts.

And she counted every one.

"I think... that's enough for now," said Jamie as she stood up from finishing his legs. She stared at his shaking body covered in blood for a good moment.

"Mmmph... Mmmmmph..."

Jamie proceeded to the staircase, shutting the lights off as she did. She went outside, but shortly came back in with a large piece of plywood. She positioned it so it would block out some sound, should anyone enter the shed. Which thankfully, was a very rare thing in her family.

Lastly, she walked over by Gumball and picked up his discarded pants. Jamie pulled out his spare change and a photo of his family. His brother, sister and parents were smiling along with him. She chuckled, putting it in her own pocket. This provoked Gumball and made him jerk back and forth ready to kill someone.

"See you in the morning," said Jamie, leaving the room for the last time. As she placed the wood back in its new place, Gumball caught a glimpse of the outside. The sun was gone and night was about to fall on the town. It would be the last time he saw the night.

He could hear Jamie going up the steps and closing the shed door. He was now all alone, naked, chained up to a wall and bleeding from a hundred cuts on his body. The room was pitch dark and all he could hear was his own breaths.

Tears ran down his bloody cheeks. He quietly sobbed to himself, knowing very well this was his life forever.

–-

He kept his eyes locked on the window. She would pull up any minute, and everything would be fine again.

"Darwin?" asked a little voice from behind.

Darwin turned from the window and faced his little sister, Anais. She looked annoyed but understood what he was feeling inside his mind.

"Uh, you need something?"

"You've been staring out the window ever since mom left."

"But she's not back yet!" said Darwin snapping back at the window.

"Look, Darwin, mom will be back with Gumball any minute now. This isn't the first time he's gone missing and every time he did, mom found him and brought him back safe and sound."

"B-but what if he isn't with her?"

"Darwin, mom will be back soon with Gumball. Just relax and come eat dinner with me and Dad."

Darwin was still hesitant, but followed his sister to the kitchen where their dad was waiting at the table with dinner all made.

"Hey kids! I made sandwiches for dinner!" exclaimed Richard, holding out a large platter filled with bread.

"Why is there only bread?"

"Because I accidentally put everything else in the toaster," said Richard, embarrassed at his own mistake. A moment later, his ears rose up as tall as they would go. His kids looked at him oddly.

"Something wrong, Mr. Dad?" asked Darwin.

"Your mother is home." Richard pulled his ears over his face. "But she's upset!"

"Upset?"

"It's my eight sense. I can tell when she's angry or upset." Richard started to shiver. "She knows about the toaster!"

Richard jumped out of his seat, grabbed the toaster and chucked it out the window. He slammed it shut and ran to the front door and opened it for his wife, Nicole, whom had just gotten back from a very long drive.

"Thank you, Richard." Nicole kissed him on the cheek. "Kids, could you come over here?"

Darwin and Anais got up from their chairs and walked in the living room. Their mother stood by the door looking upset at something.

"Is everything okay, Mrs. Mom?" asked Darwin.

"Now I don't want anyone to panic right now," said Nicole. "but I couldn't find your brother."

Darwin's eyes grew large and his jaw dropped. She didn't find him?

"Oh, thank goodness! I thought you knew about the toaster!" chucked Richard.

"What happened to the toaster?"

"W-what do you mean you can't find him?" asked Darwin, taking a step closer to his mother.

"Darwin, I looked everywhere. I asked everyone if they saw him and no one has seen him since he left school." Nicole pinched the space between her eyes. "I called the police and they're starting a search-"

"But what if they don't find him?!"

"Darwin, please, calm-"

"I knew I should have went with him!" yelled Darwin as he kicked the couch. "Darwin, you idiot!"

"Darwin! Clam down!" Nicole grabbed his hands and pulled him close to her. He was on the verge of tears and was shaking all over.

"Honey, we will find him."

"B-but what if we don't?"

Nicole thought about it for a moment. She knew very well they would find him.

But, what if they really couldn't find Gumball?

What would they do?

**A/N Welp, long overdue, it's finally done. Hope you all liked this chapter and lost you spare change in the process of funding a kickstarter to have me annihilated.**

**This chapter has been improved since its original release. Mainly the "Cuts" and the "Scars" error I made. If there's anything else wrong, drop me a line in PM.**

**Thx to falconfox8, rasmus-the-drawartist, ai-wa-yume-zdesu, killer2924, 15, daxe12, lexboss, trey and ethan, zombienutjob, princessanastasia434 and anyone else I forgot for the reblogs, favs, follows, likes, reviews and support for the last chapter. I'll work on a piece of art for this story and the next chapter later, after I work on my ask blog a bit.**

**Adios for now,**

**- Water**


	4. Chapter 4

Jamie patiently waited in line at lunch. Her 'idiot' parents didn't have time to make a lunch for her that morning, so she had to deal with the food they served in the cafeteria. She grabbed a metal tray and stood behind Juke, much to her disarray, he was beat-boxing in front of her, completely unaware she was standing behind him.

_'For the love of...'_

"Hey guys," said Tobias stepping behind Jamie.

"Did any of you hear about Gumball?"

_'Oh no...'__thought Jamie._

"He like, went missing yesterday after school. You should see Darwin, he's totally freaking out!"

Juke let out another beat as a reply to Tobias.

"No, Penny is kinda cool, but she's freaking out just as much, heh."

Jamie shoved Tobias out of the way, storming out of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Jamie! You okay?" asked Tobias asked, but was ignored as she passed the double-doors.

"Jeez, everyone flips out over Gumball..."

* * *

><p>After escaping from the awkwardness in the cafeteria, Jamie made her way to the school library. The place where any student could find some peace of mind. (and silence) It was lunchtime, so not many filled the halls covered in books. There were only a few people sitting at the computers and not one had the guts to cross paths with Jamie.<p>

She quietly waked around, unaware of what she was looking for.

_'Am I even looking for something?'_

She stopped at a particular section near the end of the shelf. She randomly reached out and grabbed a random book. Her eyes scanned the cover slowly.

_**'Domination – A brief history of animals'**_

She (quietly,) slammed the book back in its original spot and grabbed another one. Again, randomly.

_**'Donny the Cat – What's heaven?'**_

Jamie didn't bother with it and dropped it on the floor. Again, picking another book.

_**'Have you seen me?'**_

She tossed it behind her back, grabbing another.

_**'Harakiri – The know how - version 3'**_

_'...Wait...'_

Jamie dropped the book and slowly turned around. She picked up a book she had thrown to the side and glanced at its cover.

It's cover was actually blocked by a large piece of paper that read "Have you seen me?" on the top. What was more shocking was who's face was on it.

There in all his happiness, was Gumball. The flier had in big red letters the last place he was seen, his age, height, fur, (although the picture said enough about that,) what he wore and even said he had no eyelashes. Jamie wouldn't give the flier a second thought had something else not been noticed by her.

_'Last seen with another classmate leaving Elmore Junior High.'_

She dropped the book with the paper taped on it. Who saw him with her? Did they see them go in the shed? Did her parents know? An even greater fear punched her in the gut at the thought that the police were looking in her shed right now. That someone ratted out on her and that someone would-

"...His idiot brother..."

Jamie stomped out of the library, ignoring every shush that was sent her way. She went back to the cafeteria, glancing at where Darwin was sitting. He was quiet as ever and alone. Jamie started to walk up to him. She cracked her knuckles, snapped her neck, and prepared to turn him into nothingness.

But then it hit her right in the face.

_'He'll know that you know where he is.'_

She stopped dead in her tracks. Rethinking her situation over. If she did ask him if he put up the fliers, she would risk getting caught red handed. But since she was seen with him last,

"Um, Jamie?"

She snapped around, facing that peanut girl once again. She was holding something in her hand.

"Oh, hey, you're um..."

"My name is Penny."

"Y-yea, whatever..." Jamie looked away.

"Um, Jamie, I was wondering if you've seen Gumball recently," said Penny as she held out the flier to Jamie

"No, go away," spat Jamie.

"But it's just that Darwin-"

Jamie snapped her head back at Penny. Her eyes spelled death and her feet said the same thing as she took a few steps closer to her.

"What did he say about me?" asked Jamie, her voice filled with bottled anger, ready to explode.

"W-wha-"

"You answer me, right now."

Penny took a moment to process what Jamie was doing.

"Okay, first off, back off." She pushed Jamie back a bit. "Second, Darwin said nothing about you. Only that he saw Gumball with you yesterday when school ended, and I believe him. Third, what you just said makes me suspect you know what happened to Gumball. Fourth, if you think I'm intimidated by you, you're wrong, Jamie.

"And don't think of me or Darwin like that again, because we're just trying to find G-Gumball." Penny finished, tearing up at the end. She paid Jamie no mind as she handed her the flier and walked away. Leaving behind a stray tear on the ground.

Jamie, stood speechless.

* * *

><p>The room was as cold as it was yesterday. No light entered and no sound would get in or out. Gumball still hung up against the wall. He could tell the chains would leave a nasty mark if he ever would get out of this situation. He had struggled that entire morning. He knew it was morning because Jamie peeked in before she left for school without saying a word to him.<p>

Gumball was somewhat calm now and was thinking of how to get out of this place. Trying to break the chains was out of the question. If he left in the day, Jamie might catch him, but there was a chance someone would see him. On the other hand, if he tried to break out at night, there's a chance Jamie wouldn't know. But if she did, not many people would be awake to see him get caught.

His only good chance was to wait for Jamie to come home from school and escape then. Unless someone walked in and saw him like this.

His thoughts stopped for a moment when an imaged popped up in his mind.

It was Penny. She looked sad though. He had no idea why he was seeing this. But no matter the reason, he saw her sad face in his mind, and it broke his heart. He began to doubt if he would ever escape this place. He longed for the loving arms of his family. His mother holding him and telling him, _'Everything's gonna be okay.'_

He wanted that so dearly.

His tears fell silently on the ground, colliding with the dried up blood below.

* * *

><p>Jamie didn't cross with Penny for the rest of the day. Under normal circumstances, she would have socked her (and Darwin,) right in the face. But Penny's words had the better of her, they wouldn't leave her mind alone.<p>

_'You know what happened...'_

_'We're just trying to find him...'_

_'you were with...'_

"Jamie?"

Not risking it again, she kept on walking.

"Jamie, wait!"

She ran even faster recognizing the voice.

"Come back, Jamie!"

_'He's gonna suspect you! Turn around!'_

Jamie slowed to a complete stop. She turned around to see Darwin catching up to her. He stopped in front of her to catch his breath. He was bent over and looked extremely tired.

"Have... 'huff'... you seen..."

"No, go away."

"B-but Penny said... 'huff'... you knew where he might be." Darwin stood up strait.

"I already told her what I'm telling you right now; I. Don't. Know."

"B-but..." She saw his eyes begin to fill with tears. She couldn't be seen with him like this.

"Fine... I'll tell you what I know."

"Really?" asked Darwin, exited.

"After school, I knocked him in the face."

"..."

"And he went the way he usually goes when he walks home."

Darwin felt his heart being pinched. He simply said, "Okay," and began to walk away.

_'Oh, for the love of,'_

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything else," said Jamie.

Darwin stopped in place. He turned and faced Jamie, saying, "Oh, it's cool... If anything comes to mind, let me know."

"Alright." Jamie started to walk away as Darwin did the same.

"Oh, Darwin?"

He turned around one more time.

"Tell Penny... Tell her to mind her own business."

"A-alright."

Jamie walked away as the last bell went off. Students flew out of their classes as Darwin stood frozen in the middle of the hall. He expected Jamie to yell at him, but she seemed calm about it. Maybe she cared for Gumball and was worried about him too?

_'I'm not gonna get my hope up about that.'_ He walked away with that thought in mind.

Jamie's mind began to flicker. In just one day, someone questioned her about Gumball. Sure, she expected the police to knock at her door, but she didn't expect Penny or Darwin to ask her anything.

But for some reason, Jamie got a kick out of it. People asking her stuff, being deemed a suspect by some, and Penny? it felt like she was on some sick drug. She wanted more of this. More people pointing the finger at her.

She wanted more wood for the fire.

She stopped by a convenience store for some plastic bags and gloves on her way home. She told her parents that is was for a school project about gravity. Thankfully her parents mistook it for the word _'gravy'_ and assumed she was going to bake something.

They were right in a sense, because Jamie was about to bake up an even bigger storm.

* * *

><p><strong>And that is the long overdue update! Gaaah, I am so glad I finished this up.<strong>

**Now for some other stuffy-stuff! As you may or may not know, I made a piece of art for this! Yay! Links to my dA and Tumblr with said art are on my profile!**

**Also, how do ya peeps like an update twice a week? I'm gonna be doing this for awhile now so expect another chapter later this week!**

**This chapter has been improved upon. If there's something I missed, PM me.**

**Finally, thanks to - Kippas##t - rasmuslikestodraw - ai-wa-yume-zdesu - falconfox8 - luismendoza15 - XxKoGWolfBloodxH3X - Mickey The Luxray - SorceriesOfOld - Edward Serjo - BlackAcez - Terrence Orson - Ender McAuthor - Josef27 and anyone else I forgot to thank across multiple sites in this!**

**- Water**


	5. Chapter 5

The very moment she got home, Jamie rushed to the bathroom and opened the cabinet that contained all sorts of drugs and other items. She took some random bottles and shoved them in a bag. hen she opened the small door below the counter the sink sat on. She pulled out a small white box with a red cross on it, placed the pills inside and shoved it in another bag. along with the gloves.

She exited her house from the back door, undetected by her parents who were doing god knows what in their bedroom. She made her way to the shed again. Opening the door slowly and shutting it behind her. She carefully went down the steps and slipped past the piece of wood she placed last night. She flicked on the light and was met with an amazing sight.

There he was, Gumball, chained up to a wall at her leisure. His fur was drenched in sweat and blood. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were red from all the crying before. She had a giant smile on her face. One that made Gumball shiver all over.

Jamie slowly waked up to him. She placed a finger on his chest and ran it all the way down to his briefs. She stared in his eyes for a moment before gazing at the gag in his mouth.

"Here's what I'm going to do," she started off, "I'm going to take it off, and if you scream, I will shove a pipe down your throat. Understand?"

Gumball didn't have the energy to move his head. "Mmm mmph."

Jamie reached at the back of his head and undid the lock on the gag. She slipped it off slowly giving Gumball some air. It was filthy air, but his lungs felt relieved.

As Gumball caught his breath, Jamie walked over to the box of chains. She pulled out two that were slightly longer than the ones that bounded Gumball to the wall, another gag that had a lock with a key and another chain that had a metal collar at the end.

She walked back over to Gumball and reached behind him. She locked the chain with the collar on a hook that was right below his head. She then took one of the longer chains and attached it to his arm. She then locked it to a hook with a lock next to another chain that was already attached to his arm and undid the lock on it. She did the same for his right hand side.

Gumball could now mover somewhat freely. He could only walk so far, but he could at least lay on the ground and sit down. Jamie took the keys she used and placed them on the ground at the wall opposite of Gumball. He knew he couldn't attack her now, knowing that the keys were out of reach.

Jamie waked back to her new friend and sat just outside of his reach. Pointing a finger at the ground in front of herself, Jamie said, "Sit here."

Gumball, having no energy to fight, did as he was told and limped over and sat down. There wasn't much to look at except for Jamie.

"Kiss me. You are not to close your eyes or struggle. If you hurt me, you're getting the pipe."

Gumball was scared even more, but did as he was instructed. He moved his face towards Jamie's and slowly pressed his lips on hers. He kept his eyes open as she did the same. Her lips brushing softly and slowly on his.

Gumball's mind wandered off for a moment. He had waited forever for a kiss from someone that wasn't his brother or parents. Yet at the most awful time that could ever be imagined, he was kissing someone now. And with the last person he expected (and wanted,) to kiss.

He tried to think of Penny but his eyes told another story. Her face started to turn red as did his own. He found some relief when she broke it off.

"Tongue, no lips."

"..."

Even though he had to obey, Gumball had no clue whatsoever what she meant by that.

Jamie could see he didn't know what she was talking about and rolled her eyes. "Kiss me without touching my lips."

Gumball now had an idea of what she wanted. He slowly stuck out his tongue and waited for Jamie to do the same. She moved closer and touched his tongue with her own. They danced wildly making Gumball's mind all fuzzy. His head started to spin and the room felt smaller. He hope she would get her fill and end it already.

Jamie loved every passing second. She retracted her tongue and nibbled on Gumball's. The boy twitched in surprise and kept his eyes shut. Jamie didn't care though. The sense of completion in her mind blocked out every bad vibe she felt today and was feeling.

She released his tongue and took a step back. Gumball started breathing heavily again as she walked to the corner of the room. She took a pair of rubber gloves and slipped them on. She then pulled out a plastic bag and laid it flat on the floor. Finally, she picked up a metal pipe off the ground and walked back over to Gumball. He looked on with fear as she slowly placed the tip of the pipe on his head, right next to his ear.

"Now, Gumball, I am going to hit you with this. If you so much as scream, I will continue to hit you until you stop. You are allowed to cry quietly. Understand?"

Gumball opened his mouth, but no words left it.

"Good," said Jamie as she held the pipe over his head.

Gumball braced himself for the incoming pain.

'SMACK!'

The pipe came in direct contact on the side of Gumball's head, right below his ear. The pipe had no trace that it was used to hit him, but his head told another story. Blood trickled down his neck and on his shoulders. Throughout the whole ordeal, Gumball quietly sobbed under his breath. His tears slowly trickled down his cheeks.

'SMACK!'

Another blow, this time to his side. He gripped his chest tightly and waited for another blow.

'SMACK!'

Was the last one. On his cheek, leaving behind a nasty scar.

Gumball tried controlling himself, but he couldn't stop the sobs from escaping his lips. He kept his eyes shut tightly as Jamie gently set the pipe right below his wound on his head. She rolled the end of the pipe down his neck. The tip now showed that it was used to beat someone. She set the pipe on the plastic bag she laid out earlier and went over to the first aid box. She picked it up and sat next to Gumball again, opening up the box.

She pulled out the bag of pills and set them aside. Next, she took out a bottle of cough medicine. It was red and was almost completely full. She set it down and reached in the bag of pill bottles. One in particular that she pulled out had "Aches and Sores" on the label. She opened the brown bottle and pulled out two white pills. She then opened the cough medicine and discarded the small plastic cup, holding both out to Gumball.

"Take the pill, put in your moth, and drink."

Gumball cracked his eyes open and glanced at the items before him. He had seen the cough liquid before, (and used it,) but he had never seen the pills before in his life. He couldn't even guess what they would do.

"..."

"Speak up, Gumball," demanded Jamie.

"I-I'm scared to take those..."

"Just take them, damnit."

As much as Gumball wouldn't admit it, he hated it when people swear. But he was more scared when they did it at him. Jamie did just that and Gumball took the liquid and pills from her.

"Do it, or else..."

Gumball had no choice. Taking a deep breath, he brought the bottle up to his lip. Its strong scent made his breathing speed up. He placed the pills on his tongue and slowly started to tilt the bottle upwards. His heart beating faster with every second. The liquid medicine finally poured out and entered his mouth. It took Gumball every nerve in his body and mind to not spit it out. He drank it and swallowed the pills as well. He could feel his stomach turning already.

He took three big gulps before he brought the bottle down. it was nearly empty, with only half an inch renaming inside. A small amount of the liquid ran down the side of Gumball's mouth. A small hiccup passed his lips as more tears ran down his face.

"Go to sleep now." Jamie stood up, picked everything up and proceeded to walk out the door. He had no idea how long she was in here with him for. He only knew those things she made him take would soon take their tool on his body.

But something clicked in Gumball's mind. His pants and shirt were still sitting on the ground. He looked around the dark room and found them sitting in a bunch on the floor.

He slowly stood up and tried reaching for them. The collar stopped his neck from getting any closer, but he was able to drag them closer with his feet. He then picked them up and waked over to the wall where his chains were locked. He laid his pair of pants down on the ground and lie down himself. He curled up in a ball and used his shirt as a blanket. He nuzzled his cheek on a sleeve as it dried it from all the tears.

He finally reached in the pocket in his pants. the backside pockets he didn't use, but yesterday, he had one use for it.

Mr. Small's creative art class, the class was assigned to build a giant quilt in which each student would make a small patch to add. Gumball didn't have time to make one that day, but it was to be a week long project. So gumball took some pins and sewing needles home since he knew his mom would have some fabrics for him.

Gumball pulled out his hand and opened it. He had seven pins and two needle. He had a chance to pick the locks and escape from the place.

His ears perked up as he herd the sound of steps coming from the outside. Gumball shoved the needles and pins back in the rear pocket and flipped the pants over. He saw Jamie come back in with something in her hand.

"Almost forgot something..."

She stepped over him and fastened the gag on him. She took the key and locked it in place, but gave it some slack so he could breath a bit better and not scream. With that completed, she left again, placing the wood in its place and closing the shed door.

Gumball stayed completely still. The last few moments were too close for him.

He had a chance to leave, but the drugs started to affect him. He slowly drifted off to sleep, with no dreams and only darkness.

"I-I wanna go home..." sobbed Gumball quietly.

**And that's all for now! Expect next chapter to be up this Saturday!**

**Thanks to - Edward Serjo - Daxe-a-rooni-mcheese - Ender McAuthor - Lexboss - DemonSin - ai-wa-yume-zdesu - falconfox8 and many others across multiple sites for their support! See ya next time!**

** - Water**

**...**

**It's not really THAT short. :P**

**First, a special thanks to luismendoza15 over on dA, who's gonna do some arty stuff based on this! Go look at him with eyes!**

**And another big thanks to Terrence Orson who reviewed this in his story: **A Different Lens: Understanding William.****

****Like, thx again for the millionth time, dude! And all of yall's should really go read it! Like, stop reading and go now!****

****NOW!****


	6. Chapter 6

_**"Students of Elmore Junior High, this is your principal speaking.**_

_**The police will be here very shortly to question you on the whereabouts of Gumball T. Watterson. Now it's nothing to worry about, mind you. Just simply tell the police if you know anything and you won't have to worry about anything else. Gym class will have to be canceled for questioning so students will have some more time for lunch after questioning.**_

_**Have a very peppy day!"**_

Tina Rex sat next to the girls bathroom, playing with her feet, (and the few students that sadly passed by,) waiting for Jamie to exit the bathroom. Strangely, the moment that announcement finished, she ran strait to the bathroom and started throwing up.

A flushing sound followed Jamie as she exited the bathroom. She was clenching her stomach and her legs were wobbly. "O-oh.. c-crud..."

"Jamie, are you okay?" asked Tina.

"I-I'm just sick from this morn-" Jamie gagged. "-morning's breakfast..."

"Did you eat a rat or something?"

"Well, if I did, he's drowning now." Jamie glanced behind Tina. "Oh, great..."

"What?"

Jamie pointed down the hall. Tina turned to see Penny exiting her classroom with Carrie, Rachel and her brother, Tobias.

"Ignore them," said Jamie as she proceeded to walk in the opposite direction of her classmates. Tina followed her and sadly was followed by Carrie for an unknown reason.

"Guys, you got a sec?"

The duo kept their pace, ignoring Carrie.

"Stop for a second, will ya?"

'Dead bitch...' thought Jamie.

"You do know I'm a ghost, right? I know what you're thinking."

Jamie stopped and turned around. "I don't understand what you mean."

"What do you want?" asked Tina, obviously annoyed.

"Penny is all upset at something you said. She looks even worse than me, and that's saying something.'"

"Mrs. goody two-shoes spitting out lies again?"

"Well, someone's lying." Carrie flicked her hair upward. "She said you knew what happened to Gumball."

'That bitch...'

"We don't know anything, go back to your eternal sleep or something." Tina took a step forward. Her razor sharp teeth spelled death.

"I'm already dead, so you don't scare me."

"What's that sound? A lady in distress?"

The girls turned around to face Tobias, leaning against a locker. He had a toothpick in his moth and some black gloves.

"Scum like you make me sick. Picking on an innocent girl for no reason!"

"I died for a reason, you know."

"Buzz off Toe-boy. Unless you want your spine down in your leg." Jamie's eyes burned red.

"W-woah, violence is never the answer!"

"So is not being an idiot!"

Rachel grabbed her brother by his headband. She jerked him back like a mother scolding her son.

"Ow ow ow owww!"

"What's going on, ladies?" asked Rachel as she put her free hand on her hip.

"Penny said they know something about Gumball, and I think I believe her."

"I said I don't know anything!" yelled Jamie.

"And I said I think." Carrie crossed her arms.

"Ladies! There's enough of me to go around-OW!"

"Hush it, Tobias."

"Look, Penny is just coughing up lies about me like she always does! I talked to Gumball about something that happened at lunch the day he went missing, punched him in the face and left! For the love of Gooch, that's all I know!"

"You did what?"

Jamie turned around to face a shocked Penny. She had her books in her hand and her jaw was wide open.

"You hit him?!"

"I hit everyone. In fact, I'm about ready to hit you." Jamie cracked her knuckles.

"I knew he went missing because of you!" Penny threw her books on the ground.

"What the hell does that prove?"

"Think for once in your life. You hit Gumball in the face! He could have been knocked out and someone might have taken him! He could have wandered off dazed and confused and end up Gooch knows where!"

"Oh, he was fine when he left! Besides, he hit me first!"

"Gumball would never hurt someone like that!"

"Not that he could," pointed out Tobias.

"You know what?" Jamie snapped around and yanked Tobias away from Rachel. She kicked him in his leg, causing Tobias to yelp in surprise.

"Hey! Let him go!"

Rachel grabbed Jamie by her horns and shoved her head to the ground.

"Oh, you bitch!" Jamie ran head on into Rachel. Her training with her mother had paid off at times like these. She pushed Rachel down the hall and rammed her right into the concrete wall. Rachel was lucky that she wasn't being pushed by one of her horns.

Shortly after she hit the wall, the other students came running after them. Jamie had knocked Rachel down and proceeded to kick her in the gut repeatedly. Rachel creamed but couldn't fight back. When Jamie started punching her, Penny grabbed her shirt and dragged Jamie back before tossing her away from Rachel. Jamie's eyes burned red with rage.

"You're next..."

Jamie jumped and tackled Penny head on.

"Yahhhh!"

She punched her in her right eye hole. She pulled her arm back and saw blood on her hand.

'You bleed just like him...'

"What on earth is going on here?!"

Miss Simian and Mr. Small stood on shock at the scene before them. Rachel and Tobias were on the ground, Rachel's face was all bused up, Jamie was on top of Penny, she had blood on her left hand and worst of all, Penny was clenching one eye and screaming. Blood and tears sliding down the side of her shell.

The last thing that would be herd down the halls was Simian yelling.

* * *

><p>Darwin and Anais walked down the halls quietly. Things just weren't the same anymore, they didn't think they would be anytime soon.<p>

"I should have gone with him..."

"Darwin, please don't beat yourself over it." Anais held his fin. "We're gonna find him."

"Y-yeah..." Darwin started sobbing quietly. He wiped his tears away.

Suddenly, a raging monkey came thrashing and stomping down the hall, screaming curses and dragging several students (and Small,) down the hall to her office. Her face was a highly saturated red and steam came out of her ears like a runaway train.

"...Well someone's in trouble." Anais looked on.

"Glad its not us..."

**A/Now that't the end of that chapter! So glad I got this up on time!**

**I think I should shut my can for a moment and say that I think, I'm closing up to the halfway point. I'm still not entirely sure but when the ending is coming around, Ima let you beautiful people kno~**

**I've got two endings planned out, but I'm not sure which one to go with yet. But whichever one I DO use, I might post the other in my 'Plastic Box' thing I haz here at a later date.**

**Anyway, thanks to - DemonSin - Edward Serjo - Killer2924 - Lexboss - Falconfox8 - ai-wa-yume-zdesu for everything you probably know what they did.**

**Next chapter is to be on with the date time of Tuesday.**

** - Water**


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay... Yes, I understand... Yes, she's ready to go... Okay then, bye."

_'Click'_

All right, Penny. Your parents are on their way to take you home. I'll talk to Mrs Simian about your homework. You stay put, okay?"

"Yes, Nurse."

The school nurse quickly left the room leaving Penny by herself.

The fight in the hallway left Penny frightened and in pain. She had cuts all over her arms and legs, Jamie actually bit her antlers, she had no clue where her shoes went, but what was worst of all was her right eye. The nurse took off her shell and discovered a nasty scar underneath. She would be able to see with the eye again, but the injury was almost severe and at one point, they considered taking her to the hospital. Penny insisted it was just a scar, and after an hour of debate, they decided to let her go home.

But her injury was the last thing on her mind. Penny was baffled by Jamie's outburst in the hall that afternoon. It didn't help that Simian didn't break up the fight till after they got on the principal's office. Even after, she swore at her many times. The whole ordeal felt unreal and it didn't help that Rachel had to get hurt, too.

_'She did something to Gumball... I just know it...'_

Penny was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a small creaking noise. She looked at the door and saw Darwin holding a large tote bag. He looked worried.

"They wanted me to get your books, uh, swimming stuff, cheerleader outfit and your book assignment stuff for you." Darwin walked up to Penny, handing her the bag.

"Oh, thank you, Darwin." Penny smiled.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Oh, I'll be fine. The nurse said just to get some rest." Penny frowned after that.

"You thinking about..."

"Jamie? yes."

Darwin looked puzzled.

"I really do think she knows more about Gumball than she claims she does," said Penny.

"You think she knows what happened to him?" asked Darwin.

"Yes, I very much do."

"I'm not sure about it anymore," said Darwin, quite bluntly.

"W...W-what do you mean 'anymore'?"

Darwin kicked his feet. "She came up to me when I was getting your stuff."

"What did she say to you?"

Darwin scratched his tail side. He wasn't sure if he should tell Penny, but she was his friend...

And Gumball's friend.

_'Earlier...'_

Darwin stepped inside the empty classroom. He wouldn't admit it, but it had an eerie feel to it. As if a ghost was watching his every movement.

He couldn't let his thoughts (and fears) get to him. He went over to the wall on his right where many backpacks hung on hooks. He recognized Penny's immediately and grabbed it up. He shoved it in the bag that Principal Brown gave to him. His mission was done, he could now leave.

He took a single step before Jamie walked in.

"..."

_'**ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION!'**_

"U-uh, hey." They both said simultaneously.

Jamie took a few steps closer to Darwin before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"U-uh, Principal Brown wanted me to get Penny's stuff."

Jamie nodded silently. Darwin then made his way to the door. Right before he could exit he herd Jamie mumble something.

"Um... could you repeat that?"

"...Tell Penny that I don't know anything about Gumball."

"Jamie,"

"Don't you 'Jamie' me. I told her I knew nothing about him." Jamie took a step closer. Though it was more of a stomp.

"B-but you jumped her-"

"I was mad at Rachel and her only. She should have minded her own business from the start."

"Jamie..."

"I already said I d-don't know anything!" Jamie started to cry. "Why doesn't anyone believe me?!"

Jamie got on one knee and covered her face. Darwin regretted walking in this room because now, he was in this awkward situation. He didn't know if he should leave or say something to her.

_'Oh... What would Gumball do?'_

A few moments passed as Jamie continued to sob on the ground. Darwin sighed, setting the bag down and walking next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. His fin stroked her messy hair. Surprisingly, it wasn't as dirty as he thought it would be from a distance.

"It's gonna be okay."

"N-no it isn't, because Penny doesn't believe me." Jamie sobbed even more.

"Look... I can't promise anything... but I can try to talk to her about it."

Jamie's eyes went wide. Her head snapped back at Darwin.

"You... You'd do that for me?"

"_'Sigh'_... Yes."

Jamie wrapped her arms around Darwin slowly. She embraced him, and he returned the favor. Hugging for a few good seconds.

_'She's not all that bad on the inside after all...'_

They separated from each other. Darwin helped Jamie up and grabbed the bag he sat by the door. He was about to leave when he gave Jamie a small wave and a little smile.

Jamie waved, and smiled back.

Darwin left the room and headed down the hall to the nurse's office. He felt a bit better than he did before he went inside.

* * *

><p>"She..."<p>

"Yep," said Darwin.

"I-I mean, I didn't think she was..."

"Penny, maybe you should... apologize?"

"As much as I should, Darwin," Penny sighed. "I think I should keep my distance from her for a little bit..."

"Penny,"

"I swear, I'll talk to her."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?"

"..."

Darwin smacked his own cheek. Hard.

"I'll cross my heart."

"Thank you, Penny." Darwin smiled, and Penny did the same. There was always something magical when Penny smiled.

Maybe that was what caught Gumball.

"Well, I got mathematics stuff, so I'll see you later."

"All right. Thanks again."

Darwin left the room. As he did, the nurse came back in with a clipboard.

"Penny, your parents are here."

Penny nodded and followed the nurse outside. Her mind was burning with questions, but for now, some of them were put out for now.

She made it a point as she left, to talk to Jamie tomorrow.

_'...Maybe a week. I'd better let her chill out a bit...'_

She made it a point as she jumped in the car, to talk to Jamie next week.

* * *

><p>The park was always peaceful after 9 PM. No matter how crazy your life was, this was the one place you could go to get away from it all. Ain't that wonderful?<p>

Jamie, however, was not here to get away from anything, but to deliver something.

The park was empty, so no one saw the bags that Jamie had on her feet or hands. In her right hand, she held a metal pipe that had dried up blood at one end and fresh on another. She looked around the place and saw a small bench under a tree. It was a perfect place for a loving couple to sit.

Surely whatever was here, wouldn't go unnoticed.

She set the pipe down on the bench gently. She then dug in her pocket for a small note that read 'Help' and sat it by the pipe as well. She had someone specific write it out for her, and now was the time to use it.

The note was indeed written by Gumball. It took three blows to the head for him to write it out correctly. That same day, she told the police about Gumball's whereabouts. All of which, was a lie. She said that he told her he was going to the store, then the park and home to the police. The store was a ruse just to keep them away from the park long enough for her to drop off evidence. Had they not showed up at school and questioned everyone, she would have had it done without hassle.

Now the job was done. She sneaked past the streets and back home, undetected by her parents. She didn't check on Gumball before she went to bed, like she normally did. Not that he could do anything chained up to her wall.

Before she went to sleep, she thought long and hard about what happened with Darwin.

She thought some things she'd never thought about before.

_'I think he likes me...'_

Across the town, Darwin sat in his fishbowl. He reflected on the events with Jamie. His thoughts identical to hers.

_'I think she likes me...'_

Unknowing by the two, they added more fresh wood to the ever growing fire.

Things felt like a dream to others. Some felt things they never thought they would feel before.

And others still remain stuck in what feels like a never ending nightmare.

**A/N And the update was a failure, YAAAAY!**

**Ima glad this one is up cuz this story now has more than 10,000 words, word. Also I feel sexier.**

**Thank to you persons - EpikDoesRoblox - RileyChu - Frost 69 - DemonSin - Sachiko Ever After - Edward Serjo - CreeperKiller55 - IlikeCheeseBurgerLOL - lexboss - DistortionDaxe - ai-wa-yume-zdesu and that one guest for the stuff they did before this update. o3o**

**And also, thanks to luismendoza15 of deviantArt for some wonderful fanart they did! Now go look at it!**

**See you kids death-dates on Friday!**

** - Water**


	8. Chapter 8

He assumed it was the afternoon. Then again, until Jamie came back, he assumed it was always the afternoon. No light around could even hint him at the time whatsoever.

Gumball sat up against the wall, fiddling with the lock on the cuff with one of the pins he had in his pocket. If you asked him if he was going to break out today, he'd say 'No' and you'd be confused as ever. But he had a valid reason for once in his life.

He wanted to get familiar with the lock itself. He practiced picking it so he would have a good idea on when to break out. Thankfully most of the locks were the same, so he just needed to know to pick one and work his way up. He used the pins first because the sewing needles are more thicker, so he'd save them for the actual breakout.

As much as he wanted to escape, Gumball knew he had to plan this carefully. A wrong move and he'd be stuck here forever. The thought of never seeing his family again broke his heart again, but he continued to fiddle with the lock.

'Click'

His eyes widened. He dropped the pin on the ground and slowly moved his hand over the cuff. He removed it gently revealing his wrist. It had two red lines across it and he could see that his fur was more brighter there than on the rest of his body.

For the first time in days, Gumball smiled (barely visible due to the gag,) before placing the cuff back on. He was that much closer to breaking out.

He then tried picking the lock on his left hand. But the pin snapped in two. It was now unusable. Gumball flicked the broken pieces in the corner of the room where Jamie wouldn't see them. He took his pants and dug his hand inside of the back pocket. He counted all of his picks; four pins and two needles. He took one pin and a needle out and slipped the rest back inside. He set the pin on the ground and slid the needle in the elastic of his briefs. His last resort pick.

He then sat back down and fiddled with the lock again. He started to understand them better.

'Just one more day in here...'

Suddenly, Gumball felt light-headed. He swayed back and forth before falling on his side. All the drugs he took yesterday were still inside his system. He shoved the pin back in the pocket of his pants and lied on his side. His head spinning all around the room.

He drifted off into sleep again. Pulling his pants and shirt over himself.

'Snap!'

"D-darn it!"

An hour had passed, (that was his guess,) after Gumball had fallen asleep. He was tired but he still had a job to do. Sadly he broke yet another pin. He tossed them in the corner and checked his pocket. He was down to two needles and a pin. He hoped it would last him till tonight.

He grabbed the last pin and unlocked his arms and one leg. He had them all memorized and was down to only two. He locked back everything in place and went on to his right leg. He messed with it for ten minutes (again, his guess,) hoping to hear that wonderful-

'Click!'

'Yes, yes, yes!'

Gumball locked it back on and repeated his actions just to make sure he got it right. He did indeed and did a rundown of every lock again. Everything was now burned in his mind and he could finally escape tonight.

Gumball fell on his rear in relief. He then looked at the spare pin in his hand and realized he was still wearing a gag with a lock on it. Since he had two needles left, he tried messing with the gag's lock for a bit. He didn't think it would come off or needed to for that matter. He could always cut it off later.

'Click!'

Surprisingly, it fell to his knees and he could breath freely. He took a deep breath and sighed slowly. His lungs had been burning for days and he finally found some decent relief without someone banging his head on the floor.

"Ack! 'Cough'!... Ugh... just horrible..." said Gumball to himself.

"O-okay, I got the locks down. I just have to make it through tonight and everything will be okay... Just one more night."

Gumball placed the pin back in his pants, when something came over him.

"...Dang..."

He looked to his right at a bucket Jamie left for him. It wasn't the smell or an issue using it being chained to a wall..

The whole idea was just degrading to Gumball.

He looked around the room, (even though he knew he was alone,) and stepped up to the bucket. He took a double-take before he started to pull his briefs down.

At that moment, the other needle fell in the half full bucket of his-

"Piss..."

* * *

><p>Jamie walked in slowly as she placed the wood in its now normal spot quietly. She turned and faced Gumball, who wasn't shaking this time. Maybe he knew his place now.<p>

"Stand."

With no time in between, Gumball did as he was told and stood up.

'What the...'

"Punch yourself in the face."

Gumball hesitated, but did his best to cause self-injury. He hit his cheeks a couple of times. There wasn't a loud punching noise unlike when Jamie hit him, but she could tell it caused him some pain. She could even see some tears.

"Stop," said Jamie. She slowly walked up to him, unlocking the gag with her key.

"You know what to do, Gumball."

"Yes."

They both repeated what they did every night. With Jamie kissing Gumball and beating him viciously. Gumball didn't resist like he normally would. Jamie knew something was up.

'SMACK!'

She dealt another blow to the side of his head. Blood trickled down his neck onto his chest slowly. Gumball had gotten used to the smell of blood after all these beatings. He wondered how much blood was left in him. Would he run out of it eventually?

"That's it for today," said Jamie. "Go to sleep."

"Y-yes..."

Jamie locked the gag back on him before leaving shortly after. She sat the wood by the exit and left Gumball alone. He waited a few minutes before standing up on his near-lifeless legs.

'Just have to unlock-'

His thoughts were interrupted when Jamie unexpectedly came back down. Gumball froze in place and stared at her. She looked normal, her face wasn't showing any emotion.

"What are you doing?" asked Jamie.

"Mm, mmph..."

She walked up to him and took the gag off.

"N-nothing..."

"That's a bigger lie than the one that got you here." Jamie grabbed his arm. "You wern't thinking of leaving, were you?"

"...H-how would I?"

Jamie let go of Gumball and walked around the room. She eyed everything and anything he could use to escape. But there wasn't much in the room to begin with.

"Okay, so nothing I brought in here could help you..."

"W-well, that's the idea..."

"But what if something you had could?"

Gumball flinched. Jamie picked up his pants and examined them. She ripped off the legs and dug in every pocket. At that moment, she slowly pulled out her hand, revealing a pin and a needle. The pin showed signs that it had been used for something other than sewing. She turned to face him slowly with a wide grin on her face.

"Gumball, Gumball, Gumball... Did you really think I was that stupid?"

He remained silent.

"Even now, you think I'm more stupid than I truly am." She walked up to him, their faces inches apart.

"My mom used to sew, you know. And she had a very interesting saying:"

'Never pack one needle on a trip.'

"Where's the other one?"

"You're holding it," said Gumball as he pointed to the pin.

"Don't play dumb with me, dick. This is a pin, not a sewing needle. I know you have another one somewhere."

"I said I don't." Gumball started to cry. "That's all I had."

"..."

Jamie gripped Gumball's briefs and ripped them off his waist, kicking him to the ground. She examined them closely and found a small needle hidden in the elastic. She smiled to herself as she shoved the needles in her pocket. She then locked the gag back in his mouth before giving him a kick to the chest.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Gumball."

She left for the last time that night. Gumball simply curled up in a ball and sobbed himself to sleep.

His one chance of freedom. So close, yet it slipped away.

He wouldn't have a nightmare that night. He was already living one.

**A/Now we're done with this chaptar yaaay. Think I should let ya'll know Ima getting close to finishing this story in terms of writing it. Yayz.**

**Thanks to - kippas**t - soulparties - ai-wa-yume-zdesu - EpikDoesRoblox - lexboss - DistortionDaxe - Falconfox8 - Edward Serjo and them guest reviews for stuff and more stuff!**

**Plz burn houses and see ya on Monday!**

** - Water**


	9. Chapter 9

'Knock' 'Knock'

"Hello?"

"Nicole Watterson, Elmore Police. We've come to tell you what we've found out so far."

"Yes, please come in," said Nicole, letting the doughnut and pencil officer inside. She closed the door behind them.

"Now, we have found some evidence related to this case. Just know it's not going to be pretty."

"I understand." Nicole sat down on the couch with the pencil officer.

"First, we found a pipe on a bench at the park. It had blood on both ends but nothing in the middle. We confirmed it was your son's blood."

"I-I see..." Nicole grabbed a tissue from the table.

"Now we couldn't find any fingerprints on it when we found it, but its at the lab now and its being analyzed. Second, we found a note with it."

"A note?"

"Just got back from the lab, actually." Doughnut sheriff pulled out a small plastic bag from his pocket. He handed it carefully to Nicole She eyed it.

"Now took some writings your son did the other day, and we can confirm that he wrote this note."

_**'HeLp'**_

"I-Is there anything else?" asked Nicole.

"Well, ma'am, to be honest, we don't know what it means yet. We tore the park and the surrounding area apart and this is all we found. It doesn't make sense why it was out in the open, but we think the criminal might be trying to throw the police department off the trail."

"I-Is there a suspect?"

"Well... the kids at Elmore Juinor High and the staff were questioned the other day, but nothing turned up."

"..."

The officer scratched his backside. "Don't worry, ma'am, we'll find him."

The school bus slowly stopped in front of the Watterson's house. Its doors opened up as two kids jumped off. They turned around and watched the bus close its doors and speed off down the road. They stood and watched it till it disappeared. Neither knew what to do now.

"So..."

"..."

"Darwin, I think we should try to stay positive," said Anais.

"You're right..."

"So, how did your day went?" asked Anais, walking with Darwin back to the house.

"Well... Jamie and I hung out a bit."

"Woah, wait a second." Anais stopped walking. "Jamie? The bully Jamie?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Why is she hanging out with you? Not that it's a problem, but why so suddenly?"

"I don't know. She had a fight with Penny the other day, and I talked to her about it and... I dunno, she seemed to get closer to me after..."

"Speaking of, how is Penny?" asked Anais.

"Oh, she's fine, but she doesn't talk to Jamie when she's around me."

"Sounds tough."

"I think they're just both worried about Gumball. The school hasn't been the same without him."

They both sighed as they stepped inside. Their mother sat quietly on the couch, staring at the ground.

"You okay, Mrs. Mom?"

"Yes, Darwin, I'm okay," said Nicole.

"What did the police say, Mom?"

"They found some things, but nothing decisive about what happened to Gumball." She stood up and hugged her children. "We can't lose hope on him..."

"We won't, Mrs. Mom... We won't..."

_**'RIIIING!'**_

Nicole pulled herself from their moment to answer the phone as Darwin and Anais sat on the couch.

"Wattersons, Nicole speaking."

"Hello?"

"Who's this?" asked Nicole, recognizing the voice from somewhere.

"Um, my name's Jamie. I'm a friend of Darwin. Is he there?"

"Oh, sure. One second." Nicole didn't question the odd call from the girl that made fun of Gumball on that one day she went with him to school. "Darwin! Phone call for you!"

Darwin jumped off the couch and walked over to his mom my the kitchen. She handed him the phone and quietly left the room.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Darwin."

"Oh, Jamie!" Darwin sounded a bit happier. "How's it going?"

"Oh, not much. kinda bored right now. But that's beside the point. I wanted to ask you something about... Gumball."

"...What did you want to know?" asked Darwin.

"Now, do you know how much change he had in his wallet the day he went missing?"

Darwin's brain stopped for a moment. He actually did know how much because of what happened before lunch ended.

He remembered it so clearly.

* * *

><p><em>"...Oh, shoot!"<em>

_"Now what?"_

_"I left my lunch money in my other pants!" Gumball searched in his pockets. He retracted his hand from his back pocket with a loud, "Yelp"_

_"Dude, you only have one pair, that mom washed. She would have given you the money if you had it in them."_

_"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Gumball looked at his hand that now had a small cut on the tip of his finger. "Can I borrow some?"_

_"..."_

_"Just this one time! I swear I'll pay you back!"_

_"Gumball-"_

_"When have I not payed you back? I make it a point to pay back my loving sibling, who's o kind to me because I always pay him back!"_

_"All right, fine! But just this one time!"_

_"Thanks buddy!"_

_Darwin took out some change out of his shoe, (it was the only place for him to hold anything,) and handed it to Gumball as they walked in the cafeteria. Darwin went over to a soda machine to get a drink real quick. He placed a dollar inside the slot and pressed a button on the-_

_**'SLAM!'**_

_In an instant, the whole room went dead silent. This scared Darwin, causing him to turn around. And what he saw, wasn't pretty._

_"Oh, Gumball... What the heck did you do?"_

* * *

><p>"A dollar and sixty cents," said Darwin. "Um, why did you ask?"<p>

"..."

"Jamie?" Darwin didn't like the silence on the other line. Then, it hit him.

"J-Jamie, is there a paperclip?"

"...Yes."

"O-oh my god..." Darwin was shocked. This could tell where he went. "W-where did you find it?!"

"Um..."

"J-Jamie?"

"P-... Penny dropped it..."

"..."

"Darwin, I know this sounds messed up, but-"

"I'm coming over."

"What?"

"We're going over to Penny's house."

"B-"

'Click'

Jamie stood in silence. She grinned as she slowly set the phone down. Skipping upstairs, she plopped down on her bed and awaited for Darwin's arrival so they could go and attempt to destroy Penny.

"Well, this is gonna be interesting."

In practically no time at all, Darwin arrived at Jamie's house and dragged her all the way to Penny's complained about going, (which was all an act,) but Darwin pretty much ignored her the whole walk there. When they arrived, Darwin knocked on the door about a thousand times before Mr. Fitzgerald answered.

"Can I help you two if you would stop hitting my door?" he asked, obviously annoyed.

"Where is your daughter?" asked Darwin.

"Did you need something from her?"

"Where is your daughter?"

"I asked you a question-"

"Where is your daughter?"

"Would you just shut up for a-"

"Where is your daughter?"

"_Stop!_" yelled Mr. Fitzgerald. "What do you want from her already?! Hurry up before I call the cops on you two!"

"It's about Gumball."

"I don't care if its about-" Mr. Fitzgerald stopped after realizing who Darwin said. He recalled Penny being upset over the whole thing a few days ago, but forgot about it the next day.

"O-oh, of course. Let me get her."

He closed the door, (gently,) leaving Darwin and Jamie alone in front of the door. Darwin didn't speak and Jamie just rolled with it.

Soon, Penny opened the door and stepped out side. She said, "Did you want something from me?"

"Hey, Penny." Darwin tried starting off friendly. "Um, I know this sound weird, but uh, I have to ask you something?"

"What?"

Darwin handed out a wallet to Penny. "Jamie said she saw you drop it."

"..."

"Now what is she telling you now?" asked Penny, rolling her eyes.

"W-what?"

"Darwin, WHY on earth would I have Gumball's wallet?"

"Don't play dumb, I saw you drop it!" Jamie spoke up and pointed her finger at Penny.

"Okay, first off, Jamie, explain where I dropped it, why you picked it up and didn't give it to the Police? Because right now, you guys are holding evidence that could tell us where Gumball is. Second, how could you see me drop it? By the time I found it, I would have given it to the police.

"And you know what, Jamie? I question why you even had it in the first place and why you didn't give it to the police. They could have dealt with me if I was hiding it, so why didn't you tell them if I had it or why I didn't give it to them? Why did you even bring Darwin into this?"

Jamie opened her mouth, but not a single word (or swear for that matter,) came out of her mouth. She had been beaten by Penny again. (Not that she didn't expect it.)

"W-why are you so mean to me?" asked Jamie.

"Why didn't you give this to the police instead of taking it to me?"

"Girls, calm down."

"Darwin, don't you see she's trying to set me up?" Penny stepped closer. "This is the third time she's done this to me ever since Gumball went missing!"

"I think someone else should go missing..." Jamie stepped in front of Penny. Their faces inches away.

"Jamie, you don't scare me."

"Yeah, but I can change that, right now."

**A/N Yes, yes, last minute update! Almost forgot to post this today. O-o'**

**This the part with things yay. So anyway, the writing of this is ALMOST done. I've only got three chapters left to write, but one of them is going to be a big one. And I've still got a whole lot of updates coming around. If I had to guess when this is going to end, I'd say sometime around the beginning of October. It'll get done around that time.**

**Also on this site, Happy 50 reviews that are the only reason I update this pile of crapNEHHHHH!11!1**

**Thx to people - Kelstar159 - EpikDoesRoblox - omar guest - CreeperKiller55 - DistortionDaxe - lexboss - Terrence Orson - Edward Serjo - ai-wa-yume-zdesu – falconfox8 and all the other peeps out there for dher stufs**

**Next chaptar is gonna be on the 18'th so my brain can rot out.**

**- Water**


	10. Chapter 10

Jamie grabbed Penny by her antlers and threw her off the porch. Darwin tried to stop Jamie, but she was much stronger than him. She pushed him to the side and walked over to Penny lying on the ground. She cracked her knuckles and moved in for a kick.

"Stupid bitch."

She moved her leg back, but the kick was never delivered. Penny knocked her down to the ground with a strike to her foot. Jamie fell over and landed on her back. She stood up but was pushed backwards by tried grabbing her but Penny shoved her to the side. Penny kept moving closer to Jamie. Her face showed anger comparable to Tina's.

"Leave me alone, Jamie." Penny grabbed her shirt. "Or else..."

"...F-fine!" Jamie got her shirt out of Penny's grip. She took a few steps back before looking at Darwin.

"See ya later, Darwin!"

She ran off down the street. Not once did she look back at the Fitzgerald house. Darwin ran over to Penny and said, "Penny, are you okay?"

"I knew it..."

"Huh?"

"Darwin, she knows what happened to Gumball."

"B-but wait a second! She said-"

"Darwin, there is no war or reason I should have Gumball's wallet. So why does she have it?"

"Well because you... I mean she thought..."

"Darwin."

"Look, I know this looks really bad, but she didn't do anything to him! I believe her, Penny!"

"...'Sigh'" Penny grabbed Darwin's hand. "This is another thing I know."

"W-what?"

"I know you like her."

"...W-what?!"

"Darwin, I've seen you two hanging out together. I can see the look in your eyes when she was around." Penny looked up at the sky. "Gumball had the same look, too."

"Penny..."

"Darwin, I know how you feel about her. I'm not going to try to seperate you two, but please, for me, be careful..."

"Penny, I know she doesn't know where she went. I know you think she does, but maybe she really doesn't..."

They both stood in silence. Not one spoke as the sun started to set down, amking things get darker. Darwin saw stray tears falling from Penny's sheel onto the ground. He embraced her in a tight hug.

"I want Gumball back, Darwin..."

"I-I want him back too... We'll find him..."

* * *

><p>The room was cold as ever. He rocked in the corner with tears in his eyes. The only sound was the chains moving back and forth. He stopped when he herd a little voice somewhere.<p>

''...'

"M-mmph?"

_"I... hi..."_

"Mmph?"

He stood up, looking around the room.

_"I want him back..."_

_'Penny?!'_

_"We'll find him... We just have to stay strong..."_

_'Darwin! Penny!'_ Gumball looked around frantically. He checked everywhere he could, but didn't find them. Even in the pitch black room, he could have sworn he could see them standing together.

"Mmmmph! Mmmmph!"

_"G-Gumball..."_

"Mmmmmmph!"

* * *

><p>Penny's head turned to the side. She saw her dad standing by the door.<p>

"Penny! Your mom wants you!"

"Okay, dad!" She separated from Darwin and walked over to their house. She turned around to face him and said, "I-I'll see you later."

"Yeah... Sure thing."

She smiled at him before running inside and closing the door. Darwin stood on her lawn till the street lights came on. He decided to go over to Jamie's house and talk to her about what happened.

"Please, Gooch, don't let her tear me apart..."

Like before, the walk there was very quiet. A few cars passed by but there wasn't much to look at for the time being. Some lights flickered on and off as Darwin made it to Jamie's house. It looked practically the same the last time he and Gumball followed Jamie and their mother here.

He stepped up on the porch and knocked on the door. He could hear footsteps from inside. A little green person opened the door.

"Oh, well aren't you the most perfect side for a dinner I have ever seen?"

Darwin's pupils shrunk. "U-uh, no, I'm just here to see Jamie, Mr, uh, Jamie."

"Oh, you came here to see my daughter? How sweet of you!" He pinched his cheek. "Jamie! You have a friend here to see you!"

"Dad! I'm in the middle of something! Tell Darwin to come up here!"

"Welp, you herd the little lady." He moved aside so Darwin could step in.

"Uh, thank you, sir." Darwin stepped inside slowly. 'How did she know I would come over?'

"Oh, and we have a no-shoe policy here!" He pointed to Darwin's sneakers.

"But its all I-"

"Oh, were you leaving so soon?"

"..."

Darwin slipped off his sneakers and sat them by the door. He didn't really like the feeling of being this exposed in someone else's house. (or anywhere for that matter.)

"She's upstairs, last room on the left!"

"Thank you." Darwin went upstairs and faced Jamie's bedroom door. He didn't think he would ever look at it. Let alone inside.

"Jamie? Can I come in?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Darwin took a deep breath before opening the door slowly. He stepped in and took in everything.

The room was very messy, as he expected it. There were some posters of death-metal bands and some pictures of Jamie''s family. The floor had clothes scattered around, the bed had plain white sheets and a large black pillow. There wasn't much light comparing it to the living room he caught a glimpse at, except for the little amount of light from the sun setting outside.

"Nice, uh, place you got here."

"Oh, thanks. I know it looks like crap. I was working on something else."

Darwin looked over Jamie sitting at a desk. He saw a rather large lock sitting on the table with a lot of cleaning fluids and cotton balls.

"What's that for?"

"Oh, it's for a thing I'm working on. This is just one of the other I had."

"You have more locks?" asked Darwin.

"About twelve more. This one was getting rusty, so I decided to clean it." Jamie showed him the lock. It seemed pretty weird how she had a lock like it. Let alone twelve.

"Um," Darwin noticed something on the desk. "Is that blood?"

"What? Where?"

Darwin picked up a cotton ball. There was a small red substance on it.

"Did you cut yourself?"

"No, uh, a cat got into my stuff earlier and hurt itself. I cleaned up some other stuff before you got here and this is the last thing."

"Oh." Darwin understood. "...You don't think-"

"That cat wasn't nearly as big as Gumball." Jamie chuckled. "He got in through the air vent."

"Wow."

"Yeah, but that's beside the point." Jamie set the lock down "What did you want?"

"Um, about what happened earlier...With Penny."

"...I don't blame her..."

"Huh?"

"I mean," Jamie sat on her bed. "The police have came by like, five times asking me all these questions just because I was last seen with him. To be honest, I don't think I've ever been this stressed."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Darwin sat next to her. "Is there something I can do?"

"Don't worry about me, dude. I'll be fine." Jamie brought her arm around Darwin's shoulder.

"It'll all work out," said Darwin.

They both shared a hug for a few moments. Darwin jumped off the bed and proceeded to leave.

"See ya tomorrow."

"Bye," said Darwin as he closed the door. He went downstairs and grabbed his shoes and made his way outside. Unfortuntly, Jamie's mother was trying to squeeze through the door, so he was advised to go out the back. Darwin did so, taking his shoes and stepping out in the back yard.

As he left, he noticed a small shed by the fence. It had an eerie feeling to it compared to the rest of the house.

"..."

"Hm... Thought I herd someone." Darwin shrugged and made his way back home. The walk was still quiet, but something kept bugging him about his visit to Jamie's.

'...Someone...'

**A/N KTHIX this is up! Juuuust in time for the new Episode too!**

**Thx to - Kelstar159 - Flighter - DemonSin - CreeperKiller55 - Lexboss - Edward Serjo - **ai-wa-yume-zdesu - Falconfox8 - Olaf53 - TomasMascinskas For stuffs and stuff.****

****See ya'll Sunday.****

**** - Water****


	11. Chapter 11

Darwin kicked the machine several times before it dispensed his soda. His foot hurt but it was worth it. He walked back to his table and sat the drink down in the middle.

"Was it being a wad again?"

"Like always," said Darwin.

"Why is everyone a wad to the good people?" asked Jamie, scooting closer to Darwin.

It had been two weeks since Gumball went missing. The town was still losing its lid over him, but Darwin seemed a little more calm about the situation. Jamie and Penny were both supportive, but Jamie was a bit more closer. They started hanging out much more. At lunch, recess, and even walking home together. They kissed, but they didn't do it all the time. Only once a day at the most.

"So, what cha' doing later today?" asked Jamie.

"Probably sleep. I've been having some trouble sleeping." Darwin rubbed his eye.

"Do you have like, insomnia?"

"No, it's waking up in the middle of the night."

"...Nightmares?"

"Maybe..." Darwin opened his soda. "...Kinda..."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Well, I think you already know what they're about." Darwin scooted closer to Jamie.

"You don't have to worry, we'll find him," lied Jamie.

"I know, it's just..." Darwin sighed. "I can't stop thinking about if we don't find him... This is the longest amount of time that I've ever been separated from him for."

Jamie held his hand. She cuddled him and said, "Darwin, I don't like to see you worried..."

"I know."

"We will find him. I know we will." Jamie leaned over and kissed Darwin gently. Had it not been for the other kids around, they would have kept going.

"Thank you, Jamie."

The rest of the day went by fairly fast. Darwin talked to Anais and Penny every now and then, but for the majority, he spent his time with Jamie. He didn't think he would be in a relationship with anyone before his brother. He knew Penny liked Gumball, but they never announced it officially so it didn't count to most people.

School came and went and before the students knew it, the final bell went off and everyone ran outside. Tomorrow was Friday and the weekend was just around the corner. Everyone had something planned, except for Darwin.

As he walked out the school, he saw Penny walking over to her father's car. He ran up to her just to say 'hi' real quick.

"How are you doing, Penny?" asked Darwin.

"Oh, pretty okay now. I don't have to wear that bandage anymore." Penny rubbed her right eye-hole gently.

"Sounds great!"

"So, what are you gonna do on Saturday?"

"Oh, not much really. You?"

"I'm just gonna walk around..."

"Walk around?" Darwin was confused. "Why jsut walk around?"

"Oh, get my mind off of things, you know."

"...You're gonna look for stuff, aren't you?" Darwin took a step closer.

"Is that a problem?"

"Won't you get in trouble with the cops?"

**_'HONK!'_**

"Hang on, dad!" yelled Penny. "I don't see why I would. I'd give them something if I found anything."

"Okay, just be careful."

"I will." Penny gave Darwin a small hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

With that, Penny ran over to her dad honking the horn like a maniac. She jumped in the back and they drove off down the street. Which reminded Darwin he had a bus to catch.

The ride home was loud as ever. The kids on the bus yelled and shouted at each other over seats and other kids, too. Darwin sat at the back with his little sister having some small talk.

"At least mom looks a little better..." Anais looked at her older Brother. "She's not as tense anymore."

"Yeah, but I can tell she's still worried a whole lot."

"Then again, who isn't these days," said Anais.

"I know. They said they were gonna search the lake by the park," said Darwin.

"The lake? it's only two feet deep. Someone would have seen him by now."

"Maybe they want to go swimming?"

"That sounds like the police." Anais chuckled as the bus pulled up to their house. "I'd like to go swimming sometime, too."

They both departed the bus and walked inside. Their mother was in the kitchen making dinner as their father was sleeping on the couch, like always.

"Hi kids." Nicole walked up to them and hugged them. "How was your day?"

"It was pretty good, Mrs. Mom!"

"I'm glad to hear that," said Nicole. "Dinner will be ready in an hour."

"Okay," said both children. They both went upstairs. Anais to the bathroom and Darwin to his room. He jumped on his dated computer and began to slowly type up his assignment that was due on Monday. He wanted to get it done early so he could rest up on the weekend.

He got about two pages done before his brain was fried completely. He thought it was good enough and went back downstairs. His sister and father were both watching T.V. while his mom was on the phone with someone. He decided to step outside for a bit. The cool nighttime air always helped him think better.

He sat on the porch and watched as some cars passed by every now and then. He thought about Gumball for awhile. If he would come back and even if he would be the same Gumball he knew. He imagined he would be a lot more darker like when a war hero comes back from the war in the movies. Or if he would be more wise and stronger in the adventure movies. Maybe he would be the same and he boarded a flight to Canada by accident.

_'The war hero thing sounds better,'_ he thought to himself.

He went back inside up to his room. He looked at the bed that Gumball slept on. Darwin had made it the night he never came back in case he was found the next morning. Every day since, he made sure the bed was perfectly made in every possible way for when he did come home.

He sat back in the chair in front of the computer, staring out the window till dinner was ready. Around this time, he and Gumball would either be watching T.V. or messing around in this very room. It seemed like there was always something to do when Gumball was around. Be it a good idea or not, no day was ever dull when he was by his side.

Those memories brought out a little tear out of Darwin. It slid down his cheek before falling on the floor.

"I miss you, buddy," said Darwin. "I hope you come back soon."

The rest of the evening was mostly silent for Darwin. He talked at dinner but only a few words every now and then. They all talked about how their day went. Anais studied about how gravity affects electricity in some properties, (which, no one understood, but still tried to talk about it,) Richard talked about counting seconds in his sleep correctly, Nicole talked about how the fax machine was stolen and Darwin talked about his time he spent with Jamie. (All except for the kissing part.)

After, he washed up and went straight to bed. He jumped in his fishbowl and said goodnight to Anais as she went up on the top bunk. She did the same and told him if he needed anything, he could always talked to her. It made him smile.

After settling in his fishbowl, he stared at Gumball's bed for a few minutes. He could almost see him laying in it and snoring quietly. He could hear his mumbles in his sleep and when he turned in bed so perfectly. Something he found hard to sleep without nowadays.

His eyes started to grow heavy as he looked at the tiny digital clock on the nightstand.

**'9:47'**

_'I better go to bed or I'll implode my eyeballs in the morning...'_

He closed his eyes and went to sleep. In his mind, he could hear a tiny voice whisper something to him.

"Goodnight, buddy."

"...Goodnight, Gumball..."

He drifted off into sleep. No bad dreams visited him that night. Only the memory of a missing brother.

He would find him if it was the last thing he did.

The moon shined down through the window that night. It's light hitting the empty spot on the bunk bed. As if it was calling someone to it.

**A/N Hey kids... Guess what? There's only SIX CHAPTERS LEFT! Four of which are written, one halfway done and the last one underway! This is probably the longest thing I've ever written and it'll probably be the first thing I finish.**

**Thanks to - Pup - ydoc124 - Edward Serjo - Flighter - BalladofTime - CreeperKiller55 - Falconfox8 - lexboss - ai-wa-yume-zdesu - luismendoza15 for ya'll doin' da goods.**

**The next chapter will be up on Wednesday, so keep an eye out for it!**

** - Water**

_P.S. Along with a dA, Fanfiction and Tumblr, I also have a YT with stupid things about Gumball and music. Just search Waterfront3000 and ima there. Not that most of you will care about this part. :T_


	12. Chapter 12

Today was finally Friday. Everyone was in an itch to get out of school. None were more exited than Darwin for the weekend. Because he could sleep in and hang out with Jamie. (and of course, his family.)

He skipped down the halls looking for Jamie, but sadly didn't find her anywhere. He hoped she didn't get detention again. She served her time after attacking Penny and Rachel, but she still had a long list of punishment waiting on her elsewhere.

Darwin peeked in the principal's office but found nothing, (except for a raging monkey sucking off his face.) the gym was empty as with the rest of the classrooms. Maybe she was outside. Darwin went out to the playground and saw her sitting on a swing. The only problem was that she wasn't moving. Her head was low and she had something in her hands.

_'Oh crud...'_

Darwin walked next to Jamie slowly. He tapped on her shoulder.

"Hey, Jamie? You okay?"

Jamie didn't respond. She only handed Darwin what she was holding. It was a small crumpled up piece of paper with some writing on it. Darwin took it and read it to himself.

_**'TO JAMIE,**_

_**I KNOW WHAT YOU DID AND WHERE HE IS.**_

_**CONFESS OR ELSE.'**_

"These people won't leave me alone..." Jamie took the note and shoved it in her pocket. "Why do they keep doing this?"

"Who gave you that?" asked Darwin.

"I found it in my locker this morning... No one has said anything about it."

Darwin thought about how he should handle the situation. "We should give this to the principal..."

"Darwin, he's not going to do anything about it if its got my name on it."

"What if I went with you?"

"He still wouldn't care... Everyone hates me." Jamie jumped off the swing.

"That's not true, Jamie. I like you a lot."

"..."

"Like... I like, like you."

Jamie grabbed Darwin and smashed her face with his. It took a moment for Darwin to figure out what was going on, though.

They seperated from their kiss. Jamie said, "Thank you... Darwin."

"Yeah, no problem at all."

Darwin held onto Jamie's hand and walked with her to the principal's office. Thankfully, Simian wasn't with him.

"Ah yes, Darwin and Jamie. How can I help you today?"

Darwin motioned for Jamie. She stepped forward and handed Brown the note. He examined it closely, staring back and forth at it and Jamie.

"What is this?"

"It was in my locker." Jamie rolled her eyes. (Even though you couldn't see it.)

"Okay, how about I take the note and we'll figure out who wrote it?"

"..."

Jamie remained silent as she took the note and walked out of the principal's office. Brown was confused but Darwin knew what was going on. He followed her out and ran up to her.

"Jamie, what's wrong?"

"I don't trust him."

"What?"

"He thought I faked it. i could see it in his eyes." Jamie stopped walking. "No one believes me anymore..."

"Look, I know you're going through some hard times, but you have to stay strong." Darwin held her hand. "If they... When, they find Gumball, it'll be enough proof that you didn't do anything to him."

"...All right... I'll hang on for you." Jamie hugged Darwin. "Neer thougth I'd ever need your brother."

"I can't believe I've gone nearly three weeks without him," said Darwin.

"Wanna go for lunch?"

"Sounds nice."

Jamie and Darwin headed for the cafeteria. As they did, they passed by Rachel and Tobias. Both didn't look very happy.

"Hey, Jamie, Penny's looking for you," huffed Rachel.

"Tell Penny I don't care." Jamie kept walking with Darwin.

"She said she wanted to talk about a note that you left her."

Jamie froze. Darwin stopped walking and looked at her.

"Jamie?"

"What note is she talking about?"

"I dunno. Said you knew she did something and was gonna rat on her."

Darwin herd this before. He slowly turned to face Jamie.

"You didn't... did you?"

"Darwin I swear, I have no idea what she's talking about."

"She has a note."

"yeah, well guess what, Dumbo? I got a note too with the same thing!" exclaimed Jamie. "You can ask Darwin!"

"That true?" Rachel and Tobias looked at Darwin.

"Y-yes, it's true." Darwin looked back at Jamie. "She found it in her locker."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Well, whatever. She's looking for you anyway."

_'Damn...'_

"Look, can't we all just get along?" asked Darwin holding his fins out.

"Darwin, come with me. We're gonna talk to Penny." Jamie grabbed Darwin's arm and dragged him down the hall.

"Jamie, please don't do this."

"This will only take a second..."

"Jamie, please," said Darwin.

Sadly, Jamie ignored him and marched around the school looking for Penny. She went to the gym and found Penny warming up for a routine with the cheerleader team. She shoved past everyone with Darwin right up to her face.

"What note?" Jamie asked.

Penny didn't look fazed. She simply handed her the note in question. Jamie handed it to Darwin. He read it and found that it was nearly identical to the one Jamie showed him earlier.

"What's your problem, Penny?"

"What's MY problem? You tell me what this note is about!"

"Like hell if I know!" spat out Jamie.

"Jamie, I was willing to forgive you for what you did the other day, but now I've changed my mind! I'm telling the principal!" Penny huffed, turned around and walked away. Jamie growled even more.

"Jamie, please! Can't we deal with this later?"

Jamie had enough of Penny. With her guard down, Jamie rammed right into Penny. She kept on running as she slammed her into a wall. A crack and pieces of her shell could be seen on her back. The cheerleaders froze in shock, but not Darwin. He ran up to the two girls and grabbed Jamie's arm as she started head-butting Penny multiple times.

"Jamie! Stop it!"

Jamie ignored Darwin and kept hitting Penny.

**'SLAM!'**

"OW! S-stop it-"

**'SLAM!'**

"J-jamie! Leave her alone!" yelled Darwin.

"You no-good stupid bitch!"

**'SLAM!'**

"S-Stop please I'm-"

**'SLAM!'**

"J-JAMIE STOP IT!"

Darwin gripped Jamie by her horns and violently tossed her away from Penny. Jamie's forehead landed right on the ground below, leaving behind a nasty scar.

"Darwin, what the hell is wrong with you?!" screamed Jamie.

"Jamie! Stop it!" Darwin slammed his foot on the ground.

"Darwin! You know what she did to me!"

"Jamie! Look at her!" Darwin pointed his fin at Penny on the ground, cluching her backside and crying. "She doesn't deserve that!"

"Oh, so now you're talking HER side?"

"I'm not taking sides! I never was on someone's side!"

"Shut up, Darwin!" yelled Jamie.

"N-no! I'm not gonna put up with this anymore!" Darwin helped Penny up on her feet. "Apologize to her, now!"

"Oh, you with that bitch now? You want to be with her now?"

"Jamie, stop it already!"

"Is something wrong with me? Huh? What the hell is wrong with me?!"

"Jamie! I never said anything was wrong with you!"

"Then what the hell do you want from me?!"

"I-I just want my big brother back, damnit!"

The whole gym went completely silent for two reasons. One being the mentioning of Gumball, and the other for Darwin swearing, which he never did. He choked up and sobbed next to Penny while Jamie stood motionless.

"I-I just want my b-brother back... That's all I e-ever w-wanted..."

Darwin sat Penny down and ran out of the gym. He blew past the doors and anyone in front of him. The other cheerleaders took Penny to the nurse, leaving Jamie alone in the gym.

Jamie was now beyond the point of angry. She was now filled with burning rage. Only once in her life had she felt like this before. Her mind took her back to that very first day. How all this madness started.

With that one word said to her.

_'S-sorry...'_

"...Him... He did this... He was the cause for all of this..."

Jamie stomped out the halls of the gym. Anyone that passed by her immedeatly went for cover. She didn't even care for school anymore or what brown had told her. She was now focused on getting home as soon as possible.

As the final bell rang, Jamie made for the exit. She saw Tina by the door picking on Tobias and Rachel.

"C'mon! Gimmie back my headband!"

"Little rat, you. Ha ha!"

"Sis, do something!"

"I wish I could care but you-"

Jamie pushed Tobias aside, knocking him into a wall. She kicked open the doors and left the school.

"Jamie?" asked Tina. She didn't get a reply.

"I guess she talked to Penny then..."

Jamie looked up at the sky. A massive storm was on it's way to town. The winds were picking up in speed and the thunder wasn't going to be pretty. She had only one thing in mind at this point in time.

_'He's gonna pay... He WILL pay...'_

**A/N Annnnnd that's all for now. Pretty fine with the fine now. The next chapter is going to be a very BIG one and on Saturday. Don't miss it, because if you do, I'll have to eat you wit a side of fish and chips.**

**Thanks to - luismendoza15 - Olaf53 - CreeperKiller55 - Edward Serjo - DistortionDaxe - Lexboss - Kippas**t - ai-wa-yume-zdesu - Falconfox8 for all their stuff and hurrs.**

** - Water**


	13. Chapter 13

Darwin silently laid face down on the carpet in his bedroom. Motionless, he seemed lifeless. The whole ordeal at school had torn him apart, both physically and mentally. He constantly hit his head when he got home and kicked the wall about a dozen times.

He questioned why Jamie acted the way she does. He still liked her a lot but after the fight with Penny, he wasn't sure how to feel about her or even if he should talk to her. If he did, it would rule out talking to Penny for the remainder of his life.

None of the current issues helped with the problem still at hand. Gumball was still out there. He wouldn't say it to anyone, but he was starting to lose hope for him. Three weeks with barely any signs of hope. The police ditched the evidence they found at the park and can't find any new leads. Their rope was giving out on them.

Darwin picked himself up and looked out the window. A storm had moved in and it was a riot outside. Trashcans were sent off the ground, (the empty ones, at least.) and the thunder roared as the heavy rain continued to pour.

Darwin wondered if Gumball was out there in the rain. He wondered if it would kill him.

_'No! No! Don't think like that!'_

Darwin slapped his face. He started to choke up again but tried to hold it in. He then heard a small knock at the door.

"Darwin? You okay?" It was his father, Richard.

"Oh, I-I'm fine."

"Your mother wanted me to tell you that dinner's ready."

"Okay, I'll be down in a few."

Darwin could hear his footsteps as he walked away from the door. Darwin was a bit afraid to go downstairs. His parents would see his eyes and question him about everything at school. He would talk to them about his problems, but now wasn't the best time.

* * *

><p>"Allergies?" asked Nicole.<p>

"Y-yep. 'sniff' I got them real bad..." Darwin hoped his mother would buy it.

"But it's raining."

"..."

_'Son of a b-'_

"Darwin, are you sure you're okay?" asked Anais as she set the plates on the table.

"Oh, don't worry. It'll pass, really." Darwin tried to chuckle. "I just need some rest, that's all."

"As long as nothing's wrong, sweetie." Nicole kissed him on the cheek. "Lets all eat and get some rest."

"Except for Dad. He's gotten enough rest for today," said Anais as she sat down at the table.

"Kids, there are two kinds of sleep for me. Day sleep, and night sleep with your mother."

"You have two kinds of sleep?" asked Darwin.

"Well, three, actually. The third one involves your Mom-"

"Richard..."

Dinner was finished in mere minutes and the day was coming to an end. Anais and Richard watched T.V. while Nicole cleaned up the kitchen. Darwin thought it would be best if he took a hot bath and winded down from all the madness. It relaxed him a bit, but his mind was still boggling from today's events.

He was thankful it was Friday. he didn't expect Penny or Jamie to come over tomorrow, but if they did, he could just say he wasn't feeling too good and call it a sick day. His mom would understand. (If not, he could fake it. He'd done it before with Gumball.)

The only problem was the phone. He hoped the thunder would knock out a line.

After his bath, he very slowly got ready for bed. He didn't bother with his slippers and just brushed his teeth. He said his good nights to his parents and went into his bedroom. Like all the other nights, he made sure Gumball's bed was made perfectly. He straighten the sheets and pillow, making sure everything was perfect.

"You've been doing that ever since he left."

Darwin turned around slowly. He saw his little sister all ready for bed.

"...It's just for when he gets back, you know."

"While your at it, think you can make my bed?" chuckled Anais.

"Sure thing."

Darwin helped Anais make her bed and even tucked her in. After, he slowly stepped in his fishbowl, looking back up at her.

"Night, Darwin."

"Goodnight." He slowly sat into his fishbowl. He stared out the window for a moment. It was still raining hard and the thunder went on. He closed his eyes, hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

In terms of his problems and the weather.

* * *

><p>It was 2 AM. Darwin had his eyes closed, but was still awake. The whole day and the storm kept him awake and away from sleep. He groaned and stood up completely. He quietly stepped down off the table his bowl sat on and tip-toed to the window. It was still windy and raining hard, but the thunder had settled down a bit since everyone went to bed.<p>

Darwin sighed. He wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. He quietly stepped out of his room. He went down the stairs and over to the kitchen. He grabbed a cup from the cupboard and poured himself a glass of water. He chugged it all down and sighed. He always felt like he could go to sleep after a drink at night, but he didn't feel any better this time.

"Psst... Darwin..."

Darwin turned around. He saw his mother standing by the couch.

"You okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah... I just needed a drink. I'm gonna go back to bed."

"Okay, goodnight," said Nicole as she slowly went back upstairs. Darwin thought it would be best if he did the same thing and went back to bed.

He sat the cup down and walked over to the stairs. Before he could go up then though, he herd a small noise. It wasn't like a mouse or footsteps. More like someone tapping something. He looked futher up the stairs. His mother had gone back to her room so he assumed it was just him.

He discarded that thought when he heard a small knock. Three knocks, to be exact. He slowly turned to the door. He heard the knocks again and stepped closer. He was afraid of opening it, but something told hit to do it.

_'Who's here this late at night?'_ Something crossed Darwin's mind. '_It... It can't be either one of them. Penny's hurt and Jamie wouldn't..._

_'...Jamie would...'_

He sighed and braced himself for a world of hurt. He slowly gripped the doorknob, turning it and opening the door completely.

He couldn't see much due to the storm and the lack of lighting, but he could see someone standing there, at least. It wasn't a tall person. More like a kid. Their head was down so he couldn't get a good view.

"H-hello?"

"...'huff'..."

"Are you okay?" asked Darwin. "Are you lost?"

"...'huff'... 'huff'..."

"H-hello?" Darwin took a step back.

"Darwin?" called his mother in a low voice. She was standing on top of the stairs. "What's going on down there?"

The stranger stepped forward slowly. Darwin moved back and gave them some room to walk inside. They then closed the door behind them and reached out their hand to the side. They searched around the wall till they found the light switch. With a flick, the room was now well-lit and they could be seen.

"A-are you oka-..."

Darwin stopped. His whole mind completely stopped at what he saw before him.

"...G-...G-Gumball?!"

His brother stood before him. He had cuts both old and fresh all over his body. His pants sleeves were ripped off and his sweater was gone. He had a completely red rag tied around his left arm that had blood dripping down on the floor. His eyes were dark, his mouth was quivering, but above everything, he stood in his home. Alive and standing.

"...'sob'... B-buddy."

"G-Gumball!" Darwin grabbed his brother tightly and fell on the floor with him. He cried on his shoulder like he had never cried before. Nicole ran down and picked them both up. She grabbed Gumball by his sides and looked him in the eye.

"G-Gumball?"

"Mom... I missed you."

Nicole hugged him and cried much like her son. Darwin ran upstairs into his parents bedroom and jumped on his father.

"Wake up! He's back! He's back!"

"W-woha, what? Who's back? what?"

"Gumball! He's back!"

"He's back?!" Richard bolted downstairs as Darwin went into his room and shook Anais like a maniac.

"W-woah! Darwin! Stop I'm awake!"

"Gumball, Gumball, Gumball!"

"...What?"

"He's back!"

Anais jaw fell. She jumped off her bed and ran downstairs with Darwin. There he stood, hugging his father looking completely destroyed.

"G-Gumball!" Anais ran up to him and cried pressed up against his chest as Darwin grabbed them both and hugged them.

"I-I'd thought you'd never come back..." cried Darwin.

Nicole held Gumball by his shoulders and said, "Sweetie! Are you okay?"

Gumball slowly pointed to the makeshift bandage on his arm. Some blood could be seen slipping out of it.

"D-Darwin, go get the first aid kit."

"Yes ma'am!" exclaimed Darwin as he ran upstairs.

"Richard, please go get Gumball something to eat. He's skin and bones." Nicole rubbed his belly. She could have sworn she felt his bones. "And Anais, please get him something to wear."

Nicole picked him up gently and laid him on the couch. She was a bit scared to remove the bandage. Lord knew what was under it. She peeled off the medical tape and slipped the rag off. There she found a nasty gash about three inches long. It looked like someone tried to stitch it but gave up halfway through the wound.

"Don't worry, mommy's gonna fix this."

Darwin came back downstairs with the first aid kit. Thankfully Nicole stitched her husband's forehead thousands of times, (times when he did something absurdly stupid,) so she knew exactly what to do. She cleaned the wound and stitched it up quickly. Gumball remained silent throughout the whole process, save for the occasional twitch.

She sat him up and added a fresh bandage on his arm. If she ignored the little cuts, she'd say he looked much better. But he was still a wreck. He had dark bags under his eyes and his ears barely moved.

"Y-you poor thing..."

"All I could do was heat up leftover lasagna." Richard handed the bowl to Gumball "Eat it slow-"

Gumball plunged his head in a bowl, disregarding his father. Everyone in the room dropped their jaw and simply watched as Gumball kept his head plastered to the bowl. Some eating noises could be herd, but other than that, the room was silent. After a few moments, Gumball pulled his head up. The bowl was completely empty and what was left was stuck on Gumball's cheeks.

"T-thank you..." Gumball sighed. He saw his little sister holding a pair of his night clothes.

"Just something loose, so you can get them on easier." Anais handed them to Gumball. He took off his destroyed pants and slipped on his shorts.

"Gumball, what happened to you?" asked Nicole as she sat down next to him. The rest of his family sat on the couch with them. Gumball popped on his nightshirt and sighed.

"Where have I been..."

"Gumball..." Darwin scooted closer.

"I guess... It started when I was leaving for school... Jamie called me over and wanted to talk to me... But she didn't. She took me to her house and..." Gumball stopped as some tears ran down his cheeks. "S-she took me in her shed... She said that under it was a bunker from a war, I guess...

"She tossed me in there and before I knew it, she attacked me... T-took off my clothes and c-chained me up to the wall... She came back every now and then and... she made me do bad things... just horrible things... I was barely fed and I-I don't even know how long I was in there for..."

"When did you get out?" asked Nicole.

"...This night. I just now got out..."

"Three weeks," said Anais. "You've been gone for three weeks."

"H-has it really been three weeks?"

"How did you escape?" asked Richard. Gumball looked up at the roof. The whole ordeal was burned in his mind perfectly.

"It happened when she came in to check on me..."

**A/N Welp, that's it for now. This is actually a bigger chapter than what I've normally posted. (which would be 1,500 words.) now lets talk real kidz**

**The writing for this fic is actually completely done. Now all I have to do is post it! But ya know, Ima gonna go back in a bit and fix up all the chapters and whatnot later on. Make everything look pretty before it ends.**

**Also, hurrah, 70 reviews on FanFiction. Think mayyybe we can go for um, 100 maybe?**

**Oh, and thanks to – ai-wa-yume-zdesu – luismendoza15 - CreeperKiller55 - 2bdragonwise - lexboss - WhitchDoctorGuy - WhitchDoctorGuy - EpikDoesRoblox - DistortionDaxe - Edward Serjo for their swag, yo.**

**See you all on the last day of September, where we see Gumball's escape.**

**- Water**


	14. Chapter 14

The room was as quiet as ever. No light got in so it was pitch black. But it felt even darker than usual. Gumball could somewhat hear the rain from outside. He wished some of it would come down and wash away all the blood from the floor, (and off of him too.)

His ears twitched. He could hear Jamie coming down.

_'Here we go again...'_ Gumball gulped.

Jamie's entrance wasn't quiet, rather, loud because she kicked the piece of wood down. She was soaked, probably because of the rain. Her hands were in fist and her teeth could be seen. She didn't look happy in the slightest bit.

Jamie ran up to Gumball and kicked him in the gut. She then dealt a blow to the side of his head and knocked him on his side. She kept kicking him in the stomach and in the face till she saw him cough up blood.

"You piece of trash!"

She grabbed him by the neck and spat in his face, kicking him again afterward. She let Gumball fall to the ground and watched him twitch. Slowly, Jamie dug in her pocket and pulled out a razor, sat next to him and grabbed his arms.

"Each one is for every single thing you did to me..."

She slowly started cutting him all over his body, much like she did the first day she had him here. Only this time she made much more deep cuts than before and made new ones over his visible scars.

And like before, she counted every single one.

Her hands were completely red by the time she was done. She stood up and admired her work. His arms, legs, chest and head were a complete bloody mess. He kept his eyes shut the entire time and still had them closed.

"You're not done yet..." Jamie walked over to the corner and picked up a rusty pipe. She had used it before on Gumball.

She ran up to him a dealt a single blow to his back. The pipe couldn't handle the force and snapped in two pieces. Gumball jerked as it made contact with his back and sobbed more.

_**'SMACK!'**_

Jamie swung at him again. This time on his leg. She could tell he wouldn't be walking with it anytime soon.

_**'SMACK!'**_

She hit him again on his head. His eyes shot open from the massive amount of pain.

"You did this..."

_**'SMACK!'**_

"Mmmmph!"

"You did this to yourself."

_**'SMACK!'**_

"Mmmmph! Mmmmph!"

"And you did this to ME."

_**'SMACK!' 'SMACK!' 'SMACK!'**_

Jamie raised her arm one more time and dealt one final blow. She got him in the arm and badly. A wide cut was visible and she could almost see the inside of his arm. Gumball sobbed even more and in a frantic state of shock, he scrambled for something to stop the bleeding.

"M-MMMPH! MMMPH!"

Jamie left the room but didn't move back the piece of wood. Gumball found a sleeve of his shorts and wrapped it around the cut as best as he could. He tried to hold on to it, but some random object collided with his forehead and knocked him on his back. He looked up and saw Jamie had come back and was placing the wood back.

"You fix yourself." was all she said before she left, turning off the lights as well.

The heavy rain was all that could be herd as Gumball searched the darkness for whatever she threw at him. He found it and tried to examine it to an extent. He found out it was a small first aid kit. It was the same one she brought with her a few days ago.

Gumball opened it up and took out a handful of cotton balls. He tried to clean the wound but couldn't do a good job at it like his mother. He thought it would be best if he just covered it for now.

Gumball had to try to stitch it up, which was something he dread doing. He saw his mom and people in movies do it before, but never enough to know what to do fully. He could only do his best which sadly, wasn't much. He only stitched it up halfway through before stopping because of all the blood.

He took a roll of bandages and some medical tape and sealed it up quickly. He used his sleeve from his pants to try and seal it up better. It didn't do much but it was better than nothing. It was all covered but some blood was leaking through. He hoped it would stop. He worried if it wouldn't.

He found some more bandages and tape inside the box. He thought he could try to cover up everything else.

_'...Wait a second...'_

He dropped the tape and searched around the floor. He only felt dirt and some blood, but under it all, he found what he dropped earlier.

It was a needle. The same needle he stitched his arm up with. He had it in his hand. His very last chance for freedom.

_'One more chance...one more...'_

He didn't hesitate to pick the lock on his right arm. He still had the lock burned in his mind. After a few silent heart-pounding moments, it came undone and his arm was free. He followed the same steps with the other locks till he finally undid the one on his mouth. The gag slowly fell to the ground and made a tapping sound as it finally hit the floor below.

Gumball was overwhelmed. Almost giddy in fact. He could stand freely again and didn't know what to do now.

_'I...I have to leave... I have to leave now.'_

He grabbed up what was left of his pants and slipped them on. As he did, a sharp pain went through his leg. Gumball stumbled on his hands and fell on the ground. He let out a hiss and tried standing up again. Carefully, he slipped his pants on completely. Gumball didn't see his sweater but he didn't have time to look for it. He wobbled over to the piece of thin wood that sat by the exit. He gripped its ends and slid it to the side. The stairs now stood before him.

_'Here I go...'_

He slowly walked forward but because it was so dark, he tripped and hit his head right on the corner of a step. He gripped his forehead and decided to crawl up the stairs. It just felt a bit more safer to Gumball.

He finally made it to the top after what felt like a year. He stood up again carefully and slowly limped up to the door. He could hear the rain outside and the thunder as it roared. With a 'gulp', he opened it slowly and stepped outside.

He was met with a blast of cold and wet air, but he didn't care. It was fresh and it didn't reek of his blood. The rain washed off any blood and dirt off his fur and the thunder assured him he wasn't deaf. He was weak, but he felt like a completely new kid.

He would have liked to lay down, but he had to get out of there. It was still Jamie's backyard. He walked slowly to the front and down the street, as fast as he could with a nearly broken leg. He still remembered the way back home and slowly limped the entire way. There weren't many people outside or driving due to the brutal rain. But it didn't matter if someone saw him or not. He was so close to home.

He was afraid that he was getting lost until he saw a light down the street. He approached it till he could make out a small house with a little SUV parked in front.

"H-home..."

Gumball was almost out of energy. He couldn't feel anything but he was so close. He dragged his feet and leg down the street and slowly up to the porch. The light had gone out by the time he was in front of the house, so he assumed everyone was asleep.

He knocked on the door quietly. There' wasn't a response, so he knocked again. He thought he herd something this time so he knocked a little harder.

_'Please... Please...'_

There was a small click and the door slowly opened. The first thing he could see,

was his brother.

**A/N Annnnnnd that's a wrap for now! Welp, so close to the end of this fic, that I can SMELLL IT...**

**Moving on to stuff no one cares about, there are now, only 3 chapters left. Because of this, I've changed the schedule. There will be a new chapter this Thursday, Sunday, and Tuesday. Why? Because it won't collide with the release of "The Shell." That day, I have plans for what may or may not be related to writing.**

**Also, I'm working on fixing the past chapters and have finished chapters 2, 3 and 4 now so expect those up along with this update, too.**

**Also, it would be worth something to say that I'm planning my next story out. I've actually got two in mind, but still buffing out some details.**

**Hm, also, if anyone thinks I should open up to being a Beta Reader, leave me a message in PM and please, do not in the reivews. Thx.**

**Fixed a small error with this chapter. Thx Terrence.**

**Now, thanks to – olaf53 – CreeperKiller55 – 2bdragonwise – DistortionDaxe – side-fish – Edward serjo – Dante Watterson – Terrence Orson – EpikDoesRoblox – Lexboss – IlikeCheeseBurgerLOL – Falconfox8 for the luvz and stuff.**

**See Ya'll on Thursday!**

**- Water**


	15. Chapter 15

Gumball sat on the couch quietly wiping away his tears.

"I-I didn't actually think I could get out..."

He looked at his brother, who was spacing out.

"Darwin?"

"...That can't be right..."

Everyone's eyes went wide.

"W-what?"

"Jamie...she wouldn't do that... she told me she didn't do that."

"B-but..."

Darwin stood up and held on to his brother's shoulders. "Please, please tell me, that's a lie..."

"D-Darwin, it's where I've been this entire time..."

"N-no! That can't be right! She wouldn't!"

"Darwin, what did she tell you?" asked Gumball.

"She told me..." Darwin took a step back. "She told me she loved me..."

A stray tear fell from his cheek. Slowly, every single memory of Jamie played back in his mind. From the very first day they talked to the last time he saw her at school. It crushed him.

"She said she loved me and that she didn't know where you went... She told me it was the truth... Why... W-why did she lie to me?"

"Darwin," started Anais, "She was only with you because of Gumball."

"W-what?"

"If you were with her, no one could say she did something to Gumball because you would have trusted her. She only did it to keep everyone from suspecting her."

Darwin didn't want to believe it, but it all sounded right. She only wanted him as a shield. The whole time he had been searching for an answer, it stood by him the entire time.

He hugged Gumball tightly. "I'm sorry... I could have done something but..."

"It's okay, buddy... She did the same thing with me," said Gumball, remembering how he got there in the first place. Gumball thought about Jamie for a moment. He wondered how long she was with Darwin. what she said to him and what they did together.

"Gumball, you need to go to the hospital," said Nicole, remembering he still had to get his wound checked out.

"Alright... as long as you guys come with me..."

"S-sure thing, pal," said Darwin.

Gumball hugged his little siblings. He missed them so much.

"Come on, sweetie." Nicole picked up Gumball and carried him to the car. The rest of his family followed them outside. The rain was still pouring a bit, but not as hard as before.

"Uh, Mom?"

"Yes, Gummy?"

"Should you be driving in a gown?"

Nicole looked down and saw she was still wearing her night robe. She looked back and saw Anais and Richard were still in their nightwear, also.

"Um, Darwin, sit in the back with your brother for a moment." She sat Gumball in the back seat.

"Okay, Mrs. Mom."

The three ran back inside to get dressed, leaving Gumball and Darwin alone for a bit.

"...Hey," said Gumball.

"Yeah?"

"Is Penny okay?"

"Oh," Darwin recalled the previous fight. "She's been having it rough... Jamie... attacked her two times. She's fine on both, but she's really worried about you."

"The rest of the school?"

"Fine, but nothing was really the same without you." Darwin leaned on his shoulder.

"I didn't think I was all that important to school..."

Gumball looked up and past the windshield, he saw a figure standing in the distance. Since it was raining, it was hard to make out. But his guess was that since the light in the car was on, they could see him and Darwin. A bad feeling in his gut hit him as they stood there motionless.

"You okay, dude?" asked Darwin, sensing something was wrong with Gumball.

"I-it's nothing..." He looked to his right and saw the rest of his family step outside. They jumped in the car and Nicole started the engine.

"We'll be there in a few, just hang in there, Gumball." She reached behind the seat and held on to his hand. The car slowly started to move forward.

"Thanks, m-mom-"

The car swerved to the left and nearly hit a light poll. The entire family screamed and went silent as Nicole continued to drive down the road.

"W-What the heck was that?!" asked a frightened Richard.

"Some freaking idiot walking on the road!" Nicole looked back, seeing if they were still there.

"Did you hit them?" asked Richard.

"No, I don't think I did." Nicole stopped the car. "Did anyone have an accident?"

"...But we didn't hit anything," said Anais.

"No no, the other kind."

"I think Gumball had a heart attack," said Darwin, noticing how Gumball was wide-eyed and was shaking all over.

"C-c-can we just keep driving?"

* * *

><p>They pulled up to the front of the hospital. Everyone jumped out and Nicole picked up Gumball. She locked the car and they began walking up to the front doors. Gumball looked tired.<p>

"Just hang on sweetie."

They stepped inside and went up to the front desk. A bandage lady turned and faced them.

"Can I help y-oh my **GOD!** What the heck happened to him!?" The lady jumped backwards at the sight of Gumball.

"He's hurt badly. We need help," said Nicole. The lady picked up a phone.

"Hello? I need a room for a child covered in cuts, bruises and possibly something else!... Yes, they all look deep... No, it's not the pink one, it's his son!... No, the missing one!"

"Can you try to hurry?" asked an impatient Nicole.

"Yes, with the annoying mother... Okay." She sat the phone down. "Just hang on a moment."

A few doctors came in with a movable bed and laid Gumball down on it. A doctor walked up to him with a clipboard. "Hey, buddy. What happened to you?"

"A-A girl locked me in her shed... she kept me in there for three weeks..."

"I see..." He checked his pulse. "How do you feel?"

"Pain all o-over..." Gumball started to cry.

"Anything internal? Does your chest hurt?"

"J-just my stomach... I haven't eaten much..."

The doctor scribbled it down on his clipboard and turned to Nicole. "Are you his mother?"

"Yes, I am."

"Did you find him like this?"

"No, he came to us like that." Nicole looked behind him to see Gumball. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Hard to tell, we won't know for sure until we check him completely. If he's telling the truth about being locked in a shed for three weeks, then it could be anything."

The doctors took Gumball away and advised for the Wattersons to wait for the results. The whole time was agonizing. No one knew if he was going to be okay and Darwin kept walking around, not once stopping even when his mother told him to do so.

* * *

><p>Two hours had passed and a doctor walked up to Nicole. He had a clipboard in his hand and a smile on his face.<p>

"He's gonna be just fine."

Everyone sighed and Darwin fell on the ground.

"Is the cut on his arm bad?"

"It's not too bad compared to what I've seen today He's lost some blood, but it's nothing too serious right now. Your son just needs rest and time to heal. Now, go over to the lady at the desk and she'll have you sign a few things and get your info."

"Thank you, thank you so much, doctor." Nicole shook his hand. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, you may see him. Top floor, room 12."

"Thank you." Nicole turned to Richard. "Richard, go take Darwin and Anais up to Gumball. I'll be up there in a minute."

Richard nodded and took his kids to the elevator. They stepped inside and Richard hit the button. The doors slowly closed and the elevator started to move.

"I'm so glad he's back," said Anais.

"Too bad he'll be stuck in here all weekend... and probably the week after that." Richard hung his ears low.

"But we can visit him, right?"

"Oh, sure! As long as your mom says it's okay."

The elevator doors slowly opened and the three stepped outside, but something was wrong.

"Dad, this is the third floor," said Anais pointing at the sign.

"Oh, the top floor light was out, so I hit the one that was lit."

"Why was it out-"

**'CRASH!'**

In a mere instant, the lights went out. The only thing that could be seen was the thunder out the windows.

"W-what happened?!"

"Darwin?!"

"Don't worry! I have a glow stick!" Richard pulled out a small stick and bent it several times. He shook it around and the room was somewhat lit now.

"Did the power go out?"

"This isn't a good thing..." said Darwin. He felt something pass by him. It wasn't wind, but more like a person. He turned around and looked down the hall.

"...Gumball..."

**A/N Only 2... ONLY 2 LEFT. Welp, anyone wanna guess how it plays out? The next chapter is gonna be a really epic one!**

**I'm also still going back and fixing up the previous chapters before I end this. Make it all shine and whatnot, but OHHH SO CLOSE TO 100 FFGHH!**

**Now, thanks to – KyroDaHero – Edwad Serjo – CreeperKiller55 – Lexboss – 2bdragonwise – Terrence Orson – ai-wa-yume-zdesu – falconfox8 – luismendoza15 for their luvs and stuff.**

**BU WAIT! Thanks to SomeRandomDuck for doing a small sketch of this fic! You can see it on his fanfiction profile as his avi!**

**See you all on Sunday for the 16****th ****chapter! It's gonna be good!**


	16. Chapter 16

"Guys, I don't like this." Anais kept turning around, being sure no one was going to jump her.

"We just need to get to Gumball," said Darwin. "We can take the stairs."

"Let me lead the way kids!" Richard lunged forward and hit a wall. "Ow."

The three felt their way around the halls looking for the stairs. Strangely, the halls were empty. They didn't see any doctors pass by them which was odd because they thought the place would be in complete chaos.

"It's kinda creepy here..." Darwin stayed close to Richard.

"Let's just hurry up and get to Gumball," said Anais.

They eventually found the stairs and made their way to the top floor. They met with another dark hallway with doors all around.

"Okay, let's find his room and..." Darwin stopped. The room slowly to get darker.

"What happened?"

"Glow stick went out." Richard shook the light, but it didn't come back on. He threw it aside.

"Well, let's just check all the rooms. He's bound to show up."

The three split up and waked down the halls. They entered the rooms and went by the beds looking for Gumball. Because it was so dark, they had trouble distinguishing him from all the other patents. Darwin's guess was that his mom would be running up anytime now and find him in no time.

He walked out of another room and sighed. "Where is he now?"

He walked up to the door in front of him. He reached for the knob but stopped at noticing something. The door was slightly opened. Up until now, every door was closed from the third floor up to the top. He found it odd that this one was open for some reason.

He pushed the door gently and peeked inside. He could see a bed next to a large window. The patent sitting in it also had ears and some points on the other side of the bed near his chest. He recognized them and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He closed the door behind-

"...Wait..."

Darwin looked a little closer. The two points slowly rose up next to Gumball. He could make out a small person staring at a sleeping Gumball. Their expression was hidden beneath the darkness of the room. A bad feeling hit Darwin in the gut.

"Psst... Hello?"

He took a few steps closer and got a better view of the person. He was actually shocked that he recognized them. It was Jamie. Her hands were behind her back and her face didn't show any emotion whatsoever. She scooted closer to Gumball and raised one hand up slowly. Darwin could see what she was holding and immediately went wide eyed at it.

It was a knife.

_'What is she...what the...'_

Darwin stood frozen, trying to process what was going on. He saw Jamie raise her hand more and move over Gumball's head. When her arm was as high as it could go, a bolt of lightning struck outside. For a split second, Darwin saw Jamie's face in full brightness. She had a wicked smile across her face. She resembled a psycho killer in one of the many movies he'd seen before.

Only this time, it was all too real.

"...GUMBALL!"

Darwin was too late, Jamie plunged the knife in Gumball's chest. He screamed out in pain as she pulled the knife out and prepared for another stab. Darwin reacted and grabbed Jamie's arm and wrestled her to the ground, trying to pry the knife from her hands.

Gumball kept on screaming as he took a sheet and tried putting pressure on his wound. The blood leaked out from the sides and onto the bed. He started to panic and tried covering it with his bear hands. Blood kept rushing out as he tried to reach for the phone sitting on the table next to him.

He was inches away from it, but Jamie tossed Darwin into the table and sent everything on it flying across the room. She stared back at Gumball before stabbing him in his left arm. Gumball jerked back and fell on the other side of the bed. He gripped the knife and tried pulling it out, but to no avail. Jamie walked over and with a foot on his chest, ripped the knife out of his arm. Some blood flew on her shirt as she retracted her arm.

"P-Please don't kill m-m-me!" cried Gumball.

"**You should have stayed.**" Her voice was dark and scratchy.

Jamie pulled her arm back and with one quick motion, stabbed Gumball right in the eye. An ear piercing scream filled the room as Jamie pulled the knife out and kicked Gumball to the ground. He curled up in a ball and clenched his bloody right eye.

"**You piece of-**"

Darwin punched Jamie in the face, sending her to the wall and knocking over another table. Her instincts reacted and she grabbed another knife on the ground. Darwin quickly picked up a metal tray and held it in front of himself.

"J-Jamie, please..."

"**It's too late for that, Darwin.**"

She screamed and ran up to him with both of her arms swinging. Darwin took a step back as he pushed the metal tray forward. Both knifes collided with it and snapped in two pieces, but Jamie kept on moving. She grabbed Darwin and tossed him up against the wall and started kicking him in his face. Darwin simply sat defenseless against her as her foot collided with his cheeks multiple times.

Jamie stopped and picked up another knife and held it to Darwin's face. She had a wicked grin on her face as she brought the blade closer to his eye.

"**Darwin, you're gonna die.**"

She slowly slipped it in his leg, causing Darwin to let out a scream of terror. He kicked and jerked, but Jamie was too strong for him. She pulled out the knife and stabbed him again in his other leg. Blood was all over the floor and his screams got louder.

"Say goodnight, Darwin-"

Jamie was sent flying across the room from a kick to the face. She hit the wall and looked back up at her attacker. Surprisingly, it was Gumball. She didn't think he would be able to kick that hard. Jamie got up and jumped on Gumball again, trying to strangle him. Gumball kicked her in the gut and shoved her aside.

He looked around and saw a small defibrillator sitting in a corner. He jumped up and made a mad dash for it, but Jamie was a step ahead of him. She grabbed Gumball's tail and yanked it back, making Gumball fall on the floor. She jumped over him and grabbed the defibrillator, pressed some buttons and pointed the two chest pads towards him.

Gumball crawled backwards as Jamie moved closer to him, all while she had a giant smile on her face. She backed Gumball up against the wall and stomped her foot in his stomach. She moved her hands forward but Gumball grabbed them and tried to keep them away from his face. He knew that if they made contact with him, it would be painful.

Jamie pushed harder and Gumball was starting to lose his grip. In a state of shock, he screamed out for his mother. The only thing he could think of to do. As the two pieces got closer to his face, he dropped what he was normally yelling and instead called 'Mommy,' several times. Jamie's face got closer to his own as the two chest pads were mere inches away from his face. Jamie smiled down at him.

The chest pads were pressed up on Gumball's cheeks, but there wasn't a shock. Jamie moved back and slammed them on the ground. A few pieces fell off and the inside was visible. Gumball could see some sparks coming out of it. Jamie turned and pointed the broken pads at his face.

"**Goodbye...**"

Suddenly, Jamie jerked backwards from Gumball. Her breaths stopped completely as she tried looking behind herself. She saw Darwin, trying to strangle her with a bed sheet. Jamie moved back and tried ramming Darwin up against the wall. She did, but Darwin still had a death grip on the sheet around her neck. Jamie dropped the defibrillator and grabbed Darwin's hands, managing to toss him over herself and flat on his back in front of her.

Jamie stomped on Darwin's face and punched him multiple times. His blood covered her fist along with some of his tears. She stopped punching him and looked up at Gumball. He was still sitting in the corner. She picked up the defibrillator again and walked up to him.

When Jamie was right in front of Gumball, he reacted and tossed a metal tray at her face. She stumbled backwards as Gumball jumped over the bed and crawled under it. This fueled Jamie's rage even more. She stomped over to the bed and tried reaching for him. Gumball moved back and into a corner picking up something. Jamie ran up to him ready to kill again. She had the two broken chest pads to the defibrillator in front of herself as she ran up to Gumball.

Gumball turned around, his hand was in front of Jamie as she approached him. In a split second, Jamie stopped dead in her tracks. Gumball still had his arm out and it was up against her chest. His face had fear all over it and his body was shaking. Not knowing what happened, Jamie looked down. She saw that in Gumball's hand was a knife, plunged inside of her up to the handle. Gumball released his grip on it and Jamie stepped back. The pain hit her fast as she fell over and started coughing up blood.

She looked up at Gumball, still up against the corner. She then looked back and saw Darwin lying on the floor knocked out. Slowly, she picked up the defibrillator, pointing both ends at herself. She looked at Gumball again, whispering something.

"**...Y-You and your brother... burn... **in... hell..."

She took the broken pads and pressed them on her face. Small pieces of metal made contact with Jamie, electrocuting her. A loud cracking sound, and she fell to the ground. Her body was completely still as blood dripped from her stab wound onto the floor below.

Gumball slid down on his rear and curled up in a ball. He rocked back and fourth, completely shocked that he saw Jamie, the one who had kept him imprisoned for weeks, who had just now possibly broken Darwin's heart, kill herself in front of him.

The room was completely silent, before he started screaming for his mother again.

**A/N**


	17. Chapter 17

The three children sat on the couch watching T.V. quietly. The show wasn't appealing and none of them felt like watching T.V. at all. Gumball grabbed the remote and shut the program off and sighed, leaning back on the couch. There sadly wasn't much to do as their parents went out shopping, and to pick up Gumball's pain killers. He placed a hand over the bandage on his right eye, still not used to seeing half as normal.

"...I don't know what to do..."

"We could... play a game or something," said Anais.

"I think I wanna take a nap." Gumball rubbed his only working eye.

"Um, mom said she doesn't want you sleeping all day," pointed out Darwin.

"...Wait, why?"

"Gumball, you've been sleeping in for the past two weeks ever since you got back from the hospital." Anais raised an eyebrow. "I think you're getting too much sleep."

"I'm depressed, okay? I haven't been feeling good lately..."

"Gumball, it's just what mom says," said Darwin, jumping off the couch.

"Didn't she say I should get some rest in the first place?"

"Well, it's just that she says you've been having ni-"

"I haven't," said Gumball bluntly.

"We never said you were." Anais jumped off the couch.

"It's just a small nap, it's not like its gonna kill me or something." Gumball crossed his arms.

"We're just worried about you," said Darwin.

"I know." Gumball looked away. "But you two have been acting strange lately..."

"What do you mean, 'strange'?" asked Anais.

"Like, you keep watching me whenever I do something now..."

"Okay, that is not true." Darwin had a stern look on his face.

"My bath last night? You guys checked on me eight times," said Gumball.

"We thought you might h-... We just wanted to make sure if you needed help," said Anais.

"I was perfectly fine. Another thing is when you guys eyed me earlier this morning."

"Again, we just wanted to make sure you were okay," said Darwin.

"I was making a sandwich, how could that affect me in any negative way?"

"Well..." Neither of Gumball's siblings had a response.

"...Hold on a second..." Gumball stepped forward and eyed the two. "Do you two think I'm gonna... kill myself or something?"

"...I mean, no, not right..." Darwin and Anais looked at the ground.

"No...no, no, no, what? No! I'm not gonna do that!" yelled Gumball. He got up from the couch.

"Gumball, we're just worried about you." Darwin stepped forward.

"I said I'm fine! Why the heck do you two think I would kill myself?!"

"You said you were depressed," said Anais. "That's not really an okay thing."

"That's something else, it's not the same thing!" Gumball crossed his arms.

"Gumball, we just said-"

"Did mom tell you something? Tell me what she said!"

"Gumball, she didn't say any-"

"That's a load of crap!" yelled Gumball.

"Gumball!" Darwin stepped forward. "Don't say that!"

"Why shouldn't I? You guys are the ones who should be saying something!"

"Gumball, calm down!" Anais showed some anger. "We're just worried about you! Geez!"

"And I told you that I was fine! Why is that so hard to accept?"

"Gumball, you're shouting. That is not fine at all," said Darwin.

"I don't even care anymore!" Gumball turned around. Darwin and Anais sighed. He had been acting this way ever since he got back. Always angry at every little thing and every person. Their mother explained it to them but Gumball denied everything. It was getting on everyone's nerves now.

Closing his eyes, Darwin thought he should start at a different approach.

"...Gumball," started Darwin. "We know you're still feeling bad over the whole thing."

"..."

"We know you're still hurting on the outside, and on the inside." Anais walked up to him and grabbed his hand. "We're not trying to hurt you. We're just here for you."

"...I-I said I'm fine..." Gumball looked away.

"Dude, you're angry all the time. You're never calm anymore and we're afraid you might hurt yourself."

"W-what part of fine do you two not understand?" Gumball pulled his hand away, facing the two with tears in his eyes.

"'Fine' is a one syllable word, so I guess nothing," said Anais. "but 'Caring' is two, however. and so is 'Brother'."

Darwin walked up and hugged Gumball. He shoved his face in his chest and rubbed his back gently. Anais joined in next to Darwin. They all stood there motionless in their little moment.

"You can hug us back if you want. They do it on T.V. all the time."

Gumball broke down and grabbed them both tightly, falling to his knees on the floor. His tears fell down on his siblings and he choked up a few sobs every now and then.

"W-Why?" Gumball looked upward. "Why?!"

Every painful memory of Jamie flashed in his mind. From the moment it all started to the very end, when she killed herself. He could clearly remember when she stabbed him multiple times and nearly killed both him and Darwin. He remember seeing her body on the ground as they left the room. It was all burned in his mind forever.

"It's okay, buddy," whispered Darwin.

"S-she..."

Gumball fell over, clenching his chest. He quietly sobbed on the floor as Anais and Darwin stood by him, holding his hands.

"It's okay..."

"I-I... I can't go on like t-this... I don't wanna..."

"Gumball, you have to be strong," said Anais.

"I-I have been for months. I-I can't go on anymore..."

"Please, Gumball." Darwin picked him up and brought him on his knees. "You can get through this. We know you can."

"I-I just don't know a-anymore..."

Gumball sat back down and quietly cried. Darwin and Anais simply sat next to him, holding his hands and trying to calm him down.

Eventually after ten minutes, Gumball stopped crying. He wiped the tears away from his face and looked at Darwin.

"C-can I please sleep for a bit?"

Darwin didn't know how to respond. His mother said he shouldn't be sleeping all the time, but after a breakdown, she would have usually made an acceptation.

"I guess... just till mom and dad get back, okay?" Darwin looked over at Anais. She nodded.

"We'll wake you up when they get back."

"T-thank you..." said Gumball. He slowly stood up and walked over to the staircase. He had to drag his legs up the entire way slowly. He went down the hall and into his room, closing the door behind him and crawling under the sheets. He curled up into a ball and closed his eyes.

For a moment, he thought about everything up to this point. He thought about Jamie. Why she did the things she did and where she was now. He thought about her parents. How did they felt about him? What were they doing?

Was Gumball a killer? He didn't think he was. Did the other kids at school think he was? Did they want to talk to him after the news came out? Did Penny want _anything_ to do with him?

His mind assaulted his emotions with another question; What did Darwin think of all this? Was he mad at Gumball? Did he still have feelings for Jamie and was he mad with Gumball when he killed her?

Should he kill _himself_?

Gumball didn't know what was going to happen. In what seemed like seconds, his whole life changed completely by one person. He could still feel the metal cuffs keeping him hung up on a wall and being violently beaten and violated every night. He could remember her face, voice and her anger so clearly. It was all burned in his mind.

Forever.

_'I should have said something to her... I should have, and none of this would have happened... but now...it did.'_

Stray tears slipped past his eyes and onto his blanket, as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

It was the end, but in no way, was it a happy ending for Gumball.

**A/N With nearly 30,000 words, more than 100 reviews on FanFiction alone and nearly 3 months after posting the first chapter, Chained is finally complete. Not only is this the end of a very long journey, but this is also the very first story I've ever completed. Really, god, looking back from chapter 1 all the way to writing this note, it really is quite strange.**

**Think I should clear some things up first, there is another ending to this. That will be posted on my "Plastic Box" story on FanFiction later on. It'll also have some other things as well.**

**Now, what the heck am I gonna do now?**

**Actually, I'm already starting to write out another story for the archive. Been buffing out some details and just now started writing the first chapter. However, it will not be posted until it is done completely. But it'll be a good one. But you know, I'll post some short one-shots every now and then just to stay on the archive and give an update on it. It's sad though, I doubt I'll ever write anything with as much hype or support as this for like, a long time now.**

**Anyway, time for the last thanks. So thank you to:**

**Falconfox8 – rasmus-the-drawartist – ai-wa-yume-zdesu – killer2924 - daxe12 - lexboss - trey and ethan – zombienutjob – princessanastasia434**** – ****Kippas##t – rasmuslikestodraw – luismendoza15 – XxKoGWolfBloodxH3X - Mickey The Luxray – SorceriesOfOld - Edward Serjo – BlackAcez - Terrence Orson - Ender McAuthor – Josef27**** – ****Daxe-a-rooni-mcheese – DemonSin**** – ****EpikDoesRoblox – RileyChu - Frost 69 - Sachiko Ever After – CreeperKiller55 – IlikeCheeseBurgerLOL – DistortionDaxe**** – ****soulparties – Kelstar159 – omar – guest – Flighter – Olaf53 - TomasMascinskas**** - ****Pup – ydoc124 – BalladofTime – 2bdragonwise – WhitchDoctorGuy – side-fish - Dante Watterson**** – ****KyroDaHero**

**For the reviews, favorites, follows, likes, reblogs, comments, and views and everything about that stuff, yo.**

**One final note, and this is posted on multiple sites, You can find me on deviantArt, Tumblr, Fanfiction for all that stuff, and I also have a wikia accoun udner 'WaterDemoBaku' and a YouTube account under "Waterfront3000"**

**Welp, that's the end of this story, and the start of another one. Adios, Dubz.**

**- Water**


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